Domino Alternative High School
by Girlbender875
Summary: Part I of trilogy. Domino Alternative School is the best rehabilitation facility worldwide. When Yuugi and co. are sent there, will they bend to the mighty government? R&R!
1. Domino High

**Hey, everyone! This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fic so please read and review. I don't mind constructive criticism so feel free to give me some if I need it! I've always loved Yu-Gi-Oh! so writing a fanfic for it is a lot of fun for me. :-D Oh, just a warning, but I am VERY RANDOM AND NOT OF THIS WORLD so be prepared for a very AU story! :-P This story is the first in a trilogy.**

**Full Title: World of Darkness, Part I: Domino Alternative High School**

**Rating: T (violence, adult themes (nothing explicit, never fear!), and mild language)**

**Full Summary: It wasn't Zorc that Pharaoh Atemu defeated 3000 years ago. It was duel monsters. One thousand years after Atemu died, the seal broke and the duel monsters returned with a vengeance. Now, two thousand years later, Malik Ishtar, Yuugi Mutou, Katsuya Jonouchi, Anzu Mazaki, and others find themselves being sent to Domino Alternative High School, the most prestigious alternative school in the world. Are their "radical" anti-duel monster views going to be beaten down by the stern rules of Domino High?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! :-(  
**

* * *

Darkness spread over the sky as the mighty pharaoh called out his name, sealing himself into the Sennen Puzzle to destroy the evil that threatened to destroy the entire planet. Just as the bright light of the magical presence vanished, everyone stared, blinking in shock. Was it really over?

Everyone gathered around where the pharaoh had been standing just before. It… it was finally done.

**3000 years later…**

The towering pyramids had been worn down by the sands of time. Sphinxes speckled the vast Egyptian desert as Malik Ishtar walked through Cairo irritably. Fine, so he was a delinquent. What was wrong with that?

Malik sighed. He had skipped school once again today. Who would want to go? All the teachers ever tried was brainwashing them. 'This is right. This is wrong. Don't do this. Don't do that.' Malik _hated_ it!

Ishizu was going to kill him. When Malik was sent to the principal once again (who he knew on a first-name basis), he had said that Malik had skipped school too many times. They were going to have to send him to the strictest school there was; Domino High.

Malik snorted. So an Egyptian school was sending him to a Japanese alternative school? Where did _that_ make sense?

As much as he acted defiant, he was a little nervous. Domino High was known worldwide as the best school for rehabilitation. In fact, most students there would become soldiers and supporters for the three gods.

What did he have to worry about? Malik tried to calm himself down. He lived in the realm of the gods anyway! If they couldn't brainwash him here, then what made them think they could do it in Japan?

"Malik!"

Malik froze. That wasn't Rishid. That was Ishizu.

"Uh…"

Ishizu stormed up to him, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to face her. "What's all this about you getting into trouble _again_? They're thinking of transferring you to Domino High!"

Malik shrugged. "I didn't make it to class on time, so I decided what the heck, might as well miss the rest of the day."

Ishizu, dressed in a light green sleeveless silk dress, rolled her eyes and growled. "Malik, you're impossible. Do you know how bad it looks for the ambassador to the gods to have a delinquent little brother?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Malik grumbled. "I don't give a flippin' hoot about those stupid gods and all of their precious little advisors and _ambassadors_."

Ishizu sighed. "Malik, _please_, I'll try to talk to the principal, but don't do this again, okay?"

Malik crossed his arms. "Whatever,"

Ishizu sighed once again, ran her right hand through her hair and then walked down the street.

The sun started setting, so Malik sighed and walked back towards his house. It was nice and roomy, just a walk away from the palace where Ra, Osiris, and Obelisk lived. Malik _hated_ the people of darkness. They came two hundred years ago… or was it two thousand? Malik mentally shrugged. He never paid attention in history class anyway.

His older sister, Ishizu, became an ambassador to the three gods, Ra, Osiris, and Obelisk when she was nineteen. Malik was about ready to kill her when she first got the job. He never liked being ordered around, so the idea of three great gods being supreme rulers with their stuffy inhuman advisors… he despised the idea.

On top of being a diplomat for the gods, Ishizu also guided visitors and tourists, teaching them of the lives of the blessed Egyptians.

Ever since the people of darkness came into the picture, Egypt was the capitol for the world; it was the supreme land. While the three gods lounged around in the palace, their henchmen (hench_monsters_ in Malik's opinion) spread like a disease all across the globe. The Dark Attributes lived in Asia, the Earth Attributes in Australia, Fire Attributes in Africa, Light Attributes in Europe, Water Attributes in North America, and the Wind Attributes lived in South America. With their beasts spread worldwide, the three gods could command anything and it would be done.

It was really nothing new to anybody. It had been this way for… Malik squinted at nothing in particular, trying to remember what the history teacher had said on that one day he actually showed up for school. They had been here for… for…

Malik growled and stormed into his house. "Rishid!"

Rishid, who had been cleaning up after the mess Malik had left that morning, walked in. "What is it Malik?"

"How long have those—"

"—Malik, watch your language!—"

"—gods been here?"

Rishid sighed. "If you paid the slightest bit of attention in school, you would know."

"Well, tell me!" Malik snapped.

"Two thousand years," Rishid answered.

"Right!" Malik pounded one fist into another. "I remember now!"

"Malik, why do you always skip school?" Rishid asked, sounding strained.

Malik snorted. "Because I don't want to be brainwashed. I hate the gods and their stupid beasts, and I don't want to be told otherwise."

"Malik!" Rishid gasped. "How could you say such a thing?"

Rolling his eyes, Malik walked past Rishid, waving his hand in the air. "Relax, I'm leaving anyway…"

Rishid watched him to go to his room and sighed. What was he going to do with him?

Meanwhile, Ishizu left the principal's office, looking satisfied, but a little worried. When she returned home, she called Malik down to the living room.

"What do you want?" Malik grumbled.

"The principal won't do anything until he sees how you act for the next week. If you're good, he'll call off the idea of sending you to Domino… _but_, if you do something stupid, I can't save you."

"Why do they want to send me out of the 'sacred land' for being a little tardy, anyway? Is there a single alternative school in this whole—"

"—MALIK!—"

"—Country?"

Ishizu sighed. "Malik, Domino is the best alternative school in the whole world. To the principal, you're a hopeless case, and only they can kick you into shape. You had better be thankful you have me."

After returning to his room, Malik considered what Ishizu had told him. _Too hopeless, eh? That's a good thing for me. _Then a thought occurred to him. He hated being Egyptian because of the association with the gods. He hated living in Egypt. So, if he wanted to get out, what better way than to get transferred to Domino?

Malik rolled over onto his back and smiled as he put his hands behind his head, relaxing. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

* * *

Obelisk Blue dormitory was filled with unruly boys as they talked loudly and laughed. Obelisk Blue was the dormitory for the new generation of students to be rehabilitated. These boys thought they were unconquerable, and they certainly looked the part. Their smoking, drinking, piercings in Ra-knew-where, and their attitudes were the worst on the planet.

One of the new tenets wandering around was Ryo Bakura, a British boy who was about as bad as they could get. He enjoyed seeing people in pain, rejected any form of authority, and was vindictive to the core. As Ryo wandered around, taking in the sights of his new abode, he accidentally bumped into another newcomer, a native boy with a crazy tri-colored hairstyle.

"Oops, sorry," the boy said. "I didn't see you."

"Watch where you're going, you dimwit," Ryo growled menacingly.

The boy's eyes widened as he took a step back. "I—I'm sorry,"

Ryo snorted and walked on, daring anyone else to bother him.

The boy, on the other hand, merely stood in place and watched him go before sighing in relief and walking off towards his two friends, Honda Hiroto and Jonouchi Katsuya.

"What happened over there, Yuugi?" Jonouchi asked. "Someone bother you?"

Yuugi shrugged. "Don't worry; it was nothing."

Honda leaned against the wall, looking over the crowd of newcomers. "Looks like a big crowd."

Yuugi sighed. "I don't know how I got myself into this mess."

Jonouchi shrugged. "Well, that just tells you that this is a messed up society. They just don't understand us kids, that's all."

Yuugi rolled his eyes before biting his lip and nervously looking around the room again. Jonouchi and Honda had been in alternative schools for two years now, but Yuugi had never done anything to deserve it. He just spoke out in class because he didn't believe in what the sensei was saying, that was all… and_ sensei_ was the one who suggested that he state his opinion!

Yuugi shuddered. Domino Alternative High School, more commonly known as Domino High, was brutal. Unlike normal alternative schools, Domino never allowed family visits, and the students couldn't leave the campus. Inside the dorms, Domino High was mainly called "Domino Alternative Hell" or just "Alternative Hell".

This was Yuugi's first year in an alternative school… he didn't know what to do. Looking at all of the new faces, Yuugi's trepidation rose to a whole new level. Boys were popping out liquor that they had snuck through and some were lighting cigarettes. There were rumors that someone had even brought marijuana!

"What have I gotten myself into?" Yuugi muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Jonouchi!"

Yuugi, Jonouchi, and Honda all turned and saw Otogi Ryuji walk over, waving excitedly.

"What is it, Otogi?" Jonouchi asked as his friend and "partner-in-crime" squeezed his way through the crowd.

"You won't believe this," Otogi whispered, grabbing Jonouchi's wrist and rushing off. Curious, Honda and Yuugi followed.

Otogi led them over towards the windows and grabbed a pair of binoculars, pointing Jonouchi in a certain direction. Jonouchi squinted through the lenses for a while before letting out a loud yell, catching everyone's attention.

"Hey, check it out; I can see the girls' dorm!" Jonouchi shouted.

Most of the boys ran over, shielding their eyes from the sunlight with their hands and trying to get a good view as Otogi and Jonouchi laughed. Honda looked curious but wasn't sure what to do. Yuugi, on the other hand, blushed furiously and backed out of the crowd.

After managing to leave the dormitory, Yuugi wandered out onto the campus. It was rather large, having a courtyard with a fountain showing the three gods, water spouting out of Ra's mouth, Osiris's mouths, and Obelisk's fists. Flowers surrounded it with benches snuggling in between. Besides the fountain, the rest of the place consisted of a running track and a big plot of land that had short-trimmed grass.

There were six buildings on the campus, two on the right, two on the left, one up front, and one off in the distance, the smallest of them all. The two on the left were for the boys. The farthest left was the dormitory and then beside it was the schooling facility. It was the same for the girls on the right. The front building was the teacher and staff residence, and the smallest building in the back was supposedly for the toughest cases. Rumor had it that they tortured students there, but Yuugi wasn't sure.

In a week the new school year would start. Yuugi sat down at one of the benches by the fountain, sighing. He was going to die here, he just knew it.

* * *

**What do you think? Do you like it? Reviews, please!**


	2. Introductions

The sun hung lazily in the sky as Malik yawned and walked down the street right by his school. Inside, children were busy studying what the teacher was telling them to do, right down to the letter. The thought of it made Malik feel ill.

Ishizu had told him that morning that if he messed it up, he was going to be sent to Domino High. Malik laughed at the memory; what could be better?

Domino High would never be the same after Malik Ishtar arrived, Malik thought happily. He would show them!

"Malik Ishtar!"

Malik ignored the voice. It belonged to neither Ishizu nor Rishid; therefore he didn't listen to it. It _did_, however, belong to the principal, Anupu Mubarak.

Malik snorted and turned around, facing the principal. "Oh, hey, Apep,"

Mr. Mubarak's face reddened in anger. Malik often pulled this trick, tweaking around with the principal's first name. Although his actual name, Anupu, meant "royal child," Malik would call him "Apep," which actually was the name of the Egyptian personification of evil; Apep was a direct enemy of Ra. Mr. Mubarak, being an avid believer in the government of the three gods, would always get seriously offended, and it only provoked Malik all the more.

"Ishtar, I've had it with you." Mr. Mubarak said with an undertone of rage at Malik's previous comment. "This is the final straw. You're going to Domino High, or so help me, I'll send you to the gods myself!"

"Whoa, Apep," Malik blinked in mock-horror, leaning back. "Which gods are we talking about; the three lounging around in their high and mighty palace or the gods of the dead?"

"Lounging around?!" Mr. Mubarak looked as if he were about to burst a blood vessel. "Ishtar, come here this instant! We're going to file that paperwork right now!"

"Sure thing, Apep," Malik snickered as he walked off with Mubarak shouting at him in the distance.

After turning the corner, Malik started laughing hysterically. A few moments later, with a few chuckles still escaping him, he headed over to a local restaurant for some koshary.

"Domino High, here I come!" he whispered under his breath.

* * *

Anzu Mazaki laughed with Atsuko Takahashi as they relaxed on their beds, which were side by side. Around them, other girls were exchanging make-up (which wasn't allowed) and other tips and information, making plenty of noise while they were at it.

One of the girls, one who had caused Anzu plenty of problems over the summer, walked over, smiling fiendishly.

"Hello, Mazaki," she said in a mock-polite tone.

Anzu smiled pleasantly, her eyes sharp as knives. "Hello,"

The girl, Nakamura Kiyomi, put her hands on her hips, leaning her weight on one leg. "I didn't expect to see you here, Mazaki. After all, I thought you were too goody-goody-two-shoes."

Anzu rolled her eyes. "Nah, I finally got so curious as to why you smell like a dog that I just _had_ to see what kind of place you lived in."

Kiyomi's face flushed while the girls who were listening laughed, particularly Atsuko and her cousin, Sachiko.

Kiyomi walked off in a huff while the girls laughed, following her the whole way.

"Man, Anzu-chan, you've got the best wit around!" Atsuko laughed. Sachiko rushed over and collapsed on Atsuko's bed.

The two cousins were orphans and always caused trouble. Anzu met them down at the docks when they were sneaking away from their guardians. After Anzu had met them, they all ran into Nakamura "Kyoko" Kiyomi, the most irritating sixteen-year-old in Japan. It was no wonder she was sent to Domino High. Anzu only got sent there because she decided to get Kiyomi back for insulting her and was caught.

Kiyomi earned her nickname "Kyoko" which meant "child of the city" because of her notorious 'secret' that she was dating for pay. Anzu snorted, wondering how Kiyomi would manage to do that job while at Domino High.

Anzu wished she were still hanging out with Nosaka Miho. Miho was quiet and reserved but she could be a lot of fun sometimes. Still, Miho really _was_ "goody-goody-two-shoes"; that girl could _not_ break rules… not that Anzu really enjoyed breaking rules, but she did a lot of after-school activities that schools didn't allow, such as part-time jobs and hanging out with "undesirables" like Atsuko and Sachiko.

Sachiko looked around quickly before stuffing her hand into her pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "Hey, you want a puff?"

"Yeah, sure," Atsuko replied, taking a cigarette. "Got a lighter?"

Anzu giggled. "I do,"

Atsuko looked at her friend. "I didn't know you smoked, Anzu."

"I don't," Anzu rolled her eyes. "I just took yours when you weren't looking."

"Hey!"

Sachiko laughed and took the lighter Anzu handed over, lighting their cigarettes.

Anzu lied back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't even do anything that was really incriminating! She did the after-school jobs to gain money so she could go to America after she graduated, and she hung out with the cousins because they were actually _fun_ instead of terrified to do anything that wasn't written down in a rulebook. What was so bad about that?

Anzu sighed. This was going to be a long year.

* * *

Malik smiled as he packed his stuff. Ishizu and Rishid had just gotten through yelling at him after getting a call from Mr. Mubarak. He was finally going to Domino High.

He didn't have much to pack. There was a uniform at the place, so he didn't need to worry about that, and he pretty much had a few pairs of pants and a lot of shirts to go with them. He didn't concern himself with clothing too much, anyway.

After finishing, Malik rubbed his hands together excitedly. He was finally getting out of Egypt! YES!!

* * *

Ryo Bakura yawned as he lied on the lawn outside of the boys' dormitory. There was too much noise for him to deal with indoors. He watched the clouds aimlessly when he heard girls giggling over by the fountain. Looking over making sure they weren't looking at him, Ryo's eyes widened. One of those girls… she was…

Ryo shook his head. He didn't normally have thoughts like this. Oh, he _hated_ this! He actually thought one of those girls was attractive!

There were three girls over by the fountain talking. One had black shoulder-length hair and large brown eyes with a fair complexion. She was about average height. The girl beside her had the exact same eyes and hair (which was in a ponytail going halfway down her back) but slightly darker skin. Then, the third girl had shoulder-length brown hair and beautiful blue eyes with a similar complexion to the first. All three were dressed in Domino High's Obelisk Blue uniform for the girls: A white button-down shirt, baby blue tie, baby blue coat, baby blue knee-length skirt, black socks, and black shoes.

Ryo watched the three giggle and laugh as they stared at the fountain. The one that had caught his attention was the brunette.

After a few minutes, they all heard the bells ring saying it was time for lunch. Ryo rolled his eyes. He _hated_ school. Still, if this girl was going, it might be worthwhile… if only he could get to know her…

_Well, might as well start trying now_, Ryo thought as he stood up and brushed the grass and dirt off of his white T-shirt and jeans(_he_ wasn't getting dressed in that stupid uniform until the first day of school).

Ryo ran towards the girls just as the rest of the students started pouring out of the dormitories, putting on his best friendly "cheerio British accent" as his cousin had put it.

"Hello there," he said to the girls, waving. They smiled and waved in return, waiting for him to catch up.

"Hi," the brunette said with a heavy Japanese accent.

Ryo automatically switched to Japanese for their sake. "Nice day, isn't it? My name's Ryo Bakura, by the way."

"My name's Mazaki Anzu," the brunette introduced herself in the typical Japanese manner; surname first.

The other two followed suit, with the shoulder-length black-haired girl introducing herself as "Takahashi Atsuko" and the other as "Takahashi Sachiko".

"Where are you from, Bakura?" Anzu asked.

Ryo felt himself blush, but he quickly shook the embarrassment off. "Uh, I'm from Great Britain."

"Wow, really?" Sachiko asked, looking excited. "What's it like over there?"

"What kind of a name is Bakura Ryo for a British kid?" Atsuko asked.

"My parents are Japanese," Ryo explained. "They moved to England because of my dad's job. I was born there and I grew up there. I'm a citizen."

"What's your hometown?" Anzu asked him.

"London," he answered.

"Wow, the capital?"

Ryo nodded. The Takahashi girls giggled while Anzu just smiled. Ryo liked her; she wasn't shallow. The other two didn't seem too bad, but they were too giggly and bouncy for him.

"So," he went on. "Where are _you_ from?"

Anzu jumped, not expecting a question directed at her. "Oh, uh, I'm from here. I live here."

"Here in Domino, eh?" Ryo said. "Not much of a change of scenery then."

Now Anzu giggled a little bit. "No, not really."

"How about you two?" Ryo asked merely to be polite for Anzu's sake.

"We used to live in Yamagata," Sachiko explained. "But then we moved to Domino last year."

Ryo nodded, barely interested. He was more concerned with Anzu. "So, you want to sit with me for lunch?"

Anzu smiled politely. "Sure,"

Ryo smiled as the three walked off to get their food. Oh, she would be his soon enough. All the girls back in England swooned for him, but they were just pitiful, shallow things. Here, though; this girl was a _challenge_. Not to mention she was attractive, too.

Much to his dismay, Anzu came over with her two friends following. Holding back a growl, he reminded himself that since she was a challenge, she wasn't going to fall for him in an instant.

Anzu _did_ sit beside him, however. Ryo smiled. Atsuko sat on his other side, and his smile vanished. Sachiko sat directly across from him and he frowned.

"Something wrong, Bakura?" Anzu asked.

Ryo quickly got rid of his frown. "Oh, no, nothing at all."

Off in the distance, others started filing in, talking loudly. Some of the boys had their uniforms on, mostly the eldest ones. Over where the girls were, a pack of them were talking and giggling, pointing at particular boys and giving them suggestive looks.

One of the girls seemed to be watching Ryo, but Ryo ignored her.

"You'd better watch yourself, Bakura," Anzu warned. "That's Nakamura Kiyomi. She'll be nice and play around with you if you have a big wallet."

Ryo snorted. "I'm not interested in trashy girls."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that," Sachiko went on. "So be careful,"

"Well, how do you get rid of them?" Ryo almost snarled; he _hated_ those kinds of girls. If it weren't for Anzu being there, he would probably beat that Kiyomi girl to shreds.

"That's easy enough," Atsuko laughed. "Ignore her entirely, no matter what she does. If she's persistent, that's when you tell her you're not interested."

"You sure she won't keep trying?" Ryo asked.

"Positive," Anzu answered. "She won't waste her energy on someone who doesn't care. She doesn't have enough brains."

All four of them laughed at that comment, causing them to get some odd stares from others before Ryo's glare scared them away.

"So how did you end up being so horrible that you went all the way from Europe to Asia? You were in a completely different ocean, for goodness' sake!" Sachiko started picking at her food.

Ryo blew out a breath. "Oh, I got into fights. Some people didn't like me, I guess."

"Fights?" Anzu repeated. "You were sent to a Japanese alternative school because you got into fights in England?"

"Oh, Mazaki-chan, you should know that Domino High has students from all over the globe. It's got such a good reputation that there isn't _any_ competition."

Anzu nodded, a little perturbed by the honorific Ryo used.

Honorifics were used as a common courtesy, but the honorific 'chan' was a feminine honorific used between close friends or lovers. It could also be used as an affectionate honorific, almost like saying "Anzu, dear."

She seemed to brush it off, however, and Ryo took note of it. Then, pretending as if it had never happened, he continued the conversation.

* * *

Yuugi sighed as he sat beside Honda while Jonouchi and Otogi smiled at the girls and flirted.

"Are those boys _ever_ going to learn?" Yuugi asked.

Honda shook his head. "It's disgusting the way they act around women. I hate it."

Yuugi rolled his big amethyst eyes. "Give me a break. You'd be doing it too if Miho-chan or Shizuka-chan were here."

Honda flushed. "I would not!"

Yuugi sighed once again. Honda was a dolt sometimes. Yuugi's eyes wandered around the room until they settled onto a table where three girls were sitting talking to the boy he had bumped into earlier. One of those girls was Anzu!

Yuugi stood up, but hesitated when he saw she was having a conversation with the boy, now dubbed "The British Bully".

He knew Anzu all the way back from childhood. They had first met in school when he was six, and they had been friends ever since. He didn't know _she_ got transferred to Domino High as well. How did _she_ end up _here_? Anzu was the nicest, greatest person in the world!

Who were the other two she was with? And why was she with the British Bully?

Anzu seemed to have noticed him, because she smiled as recognition gleamed in her crystal blue eyes and she waved him over in a friendly manner. The B.B. looked over and saw Yuugi, recognition also gleaming in _his_ eyes.

Yuugi gulped.

* * *

Malik smiled and looked out of the window while he sat, waiting for the airplane to come to a stop. It had just arrived at the Domino Airport.

Domino was a rather large city with a population of about three million, making it the third most populated city in Japan. It had a lively downtown and had its own port. It was also the headquarters to Kaiba Corporation, a very powerful gaming company with a very young CEO, sixteen-year-old Seto Kaiba.

As Malik wandered throughout the airport, he smiled. Now that he was free, he didn't have to worry about anyone watching him; he could go anywhere! Now all he needed was a taxi and he could head downtown…

Off in the distance, some kids had gathered together and were being led around by a Black Magician and Magician of Faith. The group stood around, obviously on the lookout for somebody.

Curious, Malik stared at them for a moment before heading on, but that was a costly mistake; the Black Magician said something to the Magician of Faith and then started walking towards Malik.

Malik quickly took notice and started walking a little faster, heading towards the exit. Unfortunately, the Black Magician caught up to him first.

"Malik Ishtar?" he said.

Malik paused but pretended not to hear. The Black Magician put a hand on Malik's shoulder.

"Hello there," he said calmly, even somewhat cheerfully. Malik bristled; he _hated_ the people of darkness.

"Hi," he said curtly.

"I believe you are with my group," the Black Magician explained. "My name is Khenti. I am here to grab all of the new international students coming in to Domino High. If you will just follow me, then we will only need to wait for one last arrival and after that, we will head over to the school."

Malik thought about trying to get out of his grip, but as much as he hated the people of darkness, he wasn't dumb enough to fool around with them. Black Magicians could kill.

Khenti led Malik over to the group of kids who were standing around, being watched by the Magician of Faith.

"Took you long enough," the Magician of Faith said, leaning her weight on her staff.

Khenti cringed. "Sorry,"

Malik looked curiously at the Black Magician. What was that?

Khenti walked back over to the Magician of Faith and the two started talking, their conversation blotted out by the constant noise from everyone in the airport.

Malik awkwardly looked at the other kids there. "So, you guys imprisoned too?"

They all either shrugged or nodded. The group so far consisted of three girls and four boys. One of the girls must have been American, because she wore a Yankees cap and a NYU T-shirt. A girl and the boy just beside her looked Chinese, and the third girl was probably a Spaniard. One of the boys looked like a Japanese boy, and the other two were Scots. Malik could tell because when they talked to each other, they had very heavy accents.

"So who's the last one, again?" Malik asked in English to the American girl.

The girl shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think it's a girl from India."

"India?" Malik repeated. "Well, that's random."

The girl laughed. "Yeah, isn't it? So what's your name?"

"Malik Ishtar," Malik introduced himself. "I'm from Egypt."

"The Ruling Land?" the girl looked awed, making Malik feel ill. "What's it like there?"

"Hot and cruddy," Malik replied. "What about you?"

"Alexandra Browning," the girl, Alexandra, answered. "I come from the United States of America."

"Nice," Malik said, not really paying much attention.

Alexandra turned her blue eyes to him. For some reason, he didn't like her looking at him, so he turned away.

It took about ten minutes, but they finally saw the last girl heading over towards their small group. Khenti and the Magician of Faith stood waiting as she hauled her luggage over.

Sighing when she finally arrived, Malik looked her over; she definitely wasn't from India. She had chocolate brown hair instead of black, and her complexion wasn't dark or copper at all. It was pale white. She had eyes matching her hair and a fiery look that made her endearing.

"Whoops, she isn't Indian," Alexandra giggled.

"Yeah…" Malik muttered.

"Oh, that's a Russian, no question about it," one of the Scottish boys said. "Hot-looking, too,"

The Russian girl smiled and looked at Khenti. "I suppose you're the one in charge?"

Khenti nodded. "That is correct, and now that you are here we can head out to the school… but first, let us introduce ourselves!"

The Magician of Faith looked exasperated and rolled her eyes, waiting impatiently but silently.

Khenti motioned towards Malik. "Everyone, this is Malik Ishtar, a sixteen-year-old freshman from Cairo, Egypt."

Then, he placed his hands on the two Scots, introducing the left one, who had red hair, freckles, and caramel brown eyes as Andrew Mansfield and the other, who had dark auburn hair and blue-grey eyes, was Ewan Mansfield. The two were brothers from Falkirk, Scotland. Then Alexandra was introduced, coming from New York City, New York in the USA. After Alexandra came the Russian girl, who was introduced as Marina Rumianova from Murmansk, Russia, and then Khenti introduced the Chinese children. The girl's name was Ying-Tai Zhou, and the boy's was Xiang Duan. The last girl was Spanish, as Malik had suspected. Her name was Esperanza Morales and she came from Seville, Spain. The last boy was Japanese and his name was Shuichi Sato from Matsuyama.

Some of them were relatively new to alternative schools, although they certainly seemed the types. Andrew, who was seventeen, had been through alternative schools twice in junior high, while his brother, sixteen-year-old Ewan, had never been in an alternative school before. While sixteen-year-old Alexandra had been in alternative schools since sixth grade, fellow sixteen-year-old Marina was also new, as well as sixteen-year-old Shuichi. Seventeen-year-old Ying-Tai had never seen an alternative school before, but her companion, eighteen-year-old Xiang, knew them for the past three years. Seventeen-year-old Esperanza had also seen alternative schools for quite some time.

After the introductions had been made, Khenti led them out of the airport and into a small Domino High school bus. They all climbed in with their luggage and sat separate from each other, with the Chinese pair and the Scottish brothers as the exceptions.

Malik propped his feet up onto the seat in front of him since no one was sitting there and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the window. He wasn't too ecstatic on seeing the campus, but it would have to be done.

* * *

Jonouchi looked through a phone book as he searched for the address to a hotel called "Domino Pearl Hotel." He had gotten a date with one of the girls named Izumi and was going to sneak out with her tomorrow so they could hang out. Otogi had two dates planned; one with a girl named Kiyomi while Jonouchi went out with Izumi, and then one with Izumi herself two days later.

Yuugi rolled his eyes. Those boys certainly kept themselves busy. "You guys do realize that if you get caught, you're going to get killed."

"Who cares?" Jonouchi shrugged. "Those girls are on fire! I'm not letting this slide."

Otogi slapped his friend on the back. "Darn right, Jonouchi,"

Jonouchi and Otogi laughed as Yuugi sighed, putting his face in his hands. Those two were impossible sometimes.

He still couldn't believe that Anzu was going to Domino High, though! She always had a tough personality, but she was never, well, _bad_. Yuugi wasn't either; he was just dealing with a very annoying sensei. Maybe it was the same with Anzu…

Yuugi collapsed on his bed. The boys of Obelisk Blue dormitory were busying themselves talking or making a raucous, so nobody paid the slightest bit of attention. Hiroto himself was looking through his schoolbooks and his uniform.

Surrounded by punks, gang members, and mavericks, Yuugi suddenly felt alienated and uncomfortable. The atmosphere was so foreign here. Yuugi felt a wave of homesickness overcome him as he closed his eyes, moaning slightly. He wished he were home with his grandfather and mother.

Nearby, Ryo Bakura sifted through his own valuables. There was nothing really there of great importance, at least it wouldn't seem important to anyone else. It meant the world to Ryo. There was, of course, the British flag, and then there was a photo album that his friends had made for him before he got sent off to Domino High.

One of the pictures caught Ryo's interest as he absentmindedly flipped through the pages. It was a picture of Ryo holding a coke can standing beside a drop-dead gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed, pale skinned girl dressed in a red miniskirt and a white polo. He remembered that incident.

The girl's name was Abigail. She had been his first date. They went to the greatest place to be for a teenage couple: GB's Basement. Great Britain's Basement was the long title, but everybody just called it GB's Basement or GBB; it was the place where teenagers partied 'till sunset and then had a fun night with their lovers.

Abigail was Ryo's first date to GBB. They went there three times over two weeks. Then, there was Cheryl. She went with him about five times, and after her was… Ryo thought hard but he couldn't remember the girl's name. Oh well.

Shrugging it off, Ryo turned the page and looked at some of the pictures taken at GBB. His friends were there partying as well. That place was so much fun! Nothing here was fun _that_ much was for sure.

Those were the only three girls, though. The rest were just trashy and trying to get money out of him. These three actually cared, and they weren't concerned if he was rich or poor… but even after the third one, he got bored and stopped. Even those three, who were nice, weren't good enough. They just did it for the thrill. So, instead, he looked for the challenges, which were pretty scarce in his neck of the woods. Still, he managed to find one: Anzu Mazaki.

Ryo smiled. He was going to get that Anzu even if it was the last thing he ever did. She was a very good-looking girl, anyway. He wouldn't mind having her as his own. Nobody else would ever get near her once she was his. Who knew; maybe they could start a gang. Ryo had been part of a gang in London, but he never started one before; it would be interesting.

London was yesterday's news now. Ryo Bakura was in Domino City, and the residents would remember that.

* * *

When the school bus pulled up to Domino Alternative High School, Malik wasn't too impressed, but slightly intimidated. It looked more like a federal pen rather than a school.

It was about eleven o'clock at night, so everyone dragged their feet off of the bus and wherever Khenti directed them.

Malik, Shuichi, and Ewan were led to the freshman section of the boys' dorm, which was known as Obelisk Blue, the freshman dorm. Andrew was taken to Osiris Red, the junior dorm, and Xiang was led to Ra Yellow, the senior dorm.

The boys' dorm wasn't much to look at. The moment one entered the dorm building itself, one walked into a lounge that had comfy but scarce furniture. Then he took the elevator to the first floor which consisted entirely of the Obelisk Blue dormitory. There was a small wooden-floored corridor that led straight to a door with frosted glass, which led to the room filled with bunk beds lined into two aisles along the walls, each having a window in between. Then, at the other side of the room, a door led to the large restroom…

And that was it.

A little irritated, Malik collapsed on his designated bed, which he shared with some punk from England named Ryo Bakura, who had the top bunk. Neither really cared to introduce themselves to each other. Thankfully, Ryo seemed to be the no-nonsense type, which meant that he would leave Malik alone.

Malik took a look at his uniform and school supplies. It looked like the typical brainwashing material, so it was nothing new to him. He wondered if he would be able to avoid classes just like he did back in Cairo, but he doubted it. Since he lived on campus, he would literally have to sneak by guards who were watching the main school gate, which would be tricky and not worth the effort.

There were only five more days until the school year started… what a nightmare.

* * *

The Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory wasn't too different from the boys'. A lot of noise filled the room as Anzu, Sachiko, Atsuko, and their new friend Marina from Russia talked about life.

Sachiko and Atsuko told Marina (between their giggles) about how Ryo paid very close attention to Anzu. Even though Anzu tried to dismiss it, the girls were right. That boy _did_ keep an unsettlingly close eye on her, not to mention he started using honorifics. She didn't mind him too much, but she wasn't ready to just run off with him. She didn't even _know_ him!

Marina herself mentioned that there were some cute boys that she saw on her way to the school, particularly an Egyptian. This caught everyone's interest.

"There's a boy here from the Ruling Land?" Anzu asked.

Marina nodded.

"That's weird," Sachiko commented. "I thought they would be better-trained than all worldwide youth."

"Guess not," Atsuko lied back on her bed. "Well, I'm turning in. Good night."

After they wished each other a good night, they all hit the sack. Anzu laid awake thinking about nothing in particular before she finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Some notes about the chapter:**

**1. When it's a from the perspective of a Japanese character, names will be surname first. That's how Japanese say and write people's names. i.e. "Mutou Yuugi" The only exception is when it's about very close friends. In other words, Anzu would address "Mutou Yuugi" as "Yuugi" while she addresses someone like Bakura as "Bakura Ryo."**

**2. "Ryuji Otogi" (or "Otogi Ryuji" depending on who's perspective) is Duke Develin in the English dub.**

**3. "Hiroto Honda" (or "Honda Hiroto") is Tristan Taylor in the English dub.**

**4. "Katsuya Jonouchi" (or "Jonouchi Katsuya") is Joey Wheeler in the English dub.**

**5. "Anzu Mazaki" (or "Mazaki Anzu") is Téa Gardner in the English dub.**

**6. Dater for pay - teenage prostitute**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!! :-D  
**


	3. First Day of School

Four days had gone by in a flash. The next day would be the start of school. Almost everyone in Ra Yellow wore their uniforms by then, a large group of people in Osiris Red wore theirs, and practically no one wore the Obelisk Blue uniform. This pretty much signified who was in what group: freshmen were in Obelisk, juniors in Osiris, and seniors in Ra. Most seniors were brainwashed; the ones who weren't were new.

Malik was part of the majority that did not wear their Obelisk Blue uniform, but he would have to tomorrow. The thought of it made him moan aloud.

Ewan and Shuichi, who Malik befriended soon after meeting them, walked over.

"Did you hear the rumors about morning drills?" Shuichi asked Malik in Japanese.

Malik nodded. "I wonder if they're true."

"I hope not," Ewan groaned as he sat on the lower bunk beside Malik and Bakura's. "I don't want to get up at five in the morning!"

"We probably should go to bed early, just in case," Malik said, folding his arms.

While that conversation was going on, Ryo stood outside, still not in his uniform. He smiled and waved as Anzu, Sachiko, and Atsuko walked over with their new Russian friend, Marina. Marina was pretty, but she was too somber for Ryo's tastes. Anzu was still the one he was interested in.

"Hey, Mazaki," he greeted. It was rude to address someone you just acquainted yourself with by their first name.

"Hello, Bakura," Anzu said.

"So, tomorrow's the big day," Sachiko said, not sounding excited.

Ryo shrugged. "Well, you just have to deal with it. Who knows; maybe we'll be the first students to ever drive Domino High so insane that we get kicked out!"

Anzu and the others laughed. "That would be funny!"

"And very much possible," Ryo intoned.

Marina looked disbelieving. "Yeah, right,"

"You never know," Ryo smiled slyly.

"I wouldn't try it, either," Anzu quickly said. "That small building at the back of the campus is supposedly for the toughest cases. No one has ever come out the same."

"I think they really _do_ brainwash people in there," Atsuko looked at the building and shuddered.

The five talked about everything and nothing for a short while before Atsuko, Sachiko, and Marina excused themselves, giggling furiously as they ran off. Anzu shot an irritated look their way before returning her attention to Ryo.

"So…" she mumbled. "What do you think of the campus?"

"Well, let me see," Ryo put a thoughtful finger on his chin and looked around the campus. "The only thing the fountain is good for is to go swimming or to drink the water coming out, the flowers make me sneeze, the benches are too hard and cold, the cut-grass field has absolutely nothing to do on it, and the running track is for people with nothing better to do."

Anzu laughed and then paused awkwardly. "Um, what was life like in London?"

Ryo put his hands in the pockets of his torn up jeans. "Ah, it wasn't anything of great importance. I went to your average, every-day school, had a gang of friends… just normal stuff."

"It couldn't have been too normal if you got sent here," Anzu replied.

"Well, I suppose not," Ryo responded. "Like I said before, I got into a lot of fights. How about you? How did _you_ end up here?"

Anzu sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I hung out with Sachiko and Atsuko, which was against the rules; I had an afterschool part-time job, which was another rule-breaker, and I… well, I kind of tried to drug Nakamura."

This statement caught Ryo off guard. "You tried to _what_?"

"Nakamura really got on my nerves, and she insulted my dignity and honor," Anzu grumbled. "Sachiko suggested that I just beat her up, but Atsuko said that I needed to try a more subtle approach, so I set her up with a really hot, rich, and influential guy. She was going to meet him and spend the night with him but I wanted to make sure that she didn't make it, therefore hurting her reputation as a dater for pay. The way I was going to do it was put a general anesthetic on her lipstick so when she applied it, she would get knocked out. Well, unfortunately for me, a teacher caught me putting the drug on her lipstick, even though I wasn't anywhere near the school. I was busted and sentenced to go to Domino High."

"Wow, Mazaki," Ryo whistled. "I didn't know you were capable of such devilry."

Anzu looked ashamed. "I know… I felt guilty about it later, but that didn't change my predicament, so I'm stuck."

Ryo shrugged. "Hey, it's okay; you've got me, right?"

Anzu laughed. "I guess,"

The sun began to set, so Anzu waved good-bye and returned to her dorm, warning Ryo not to get into any trouble while she was gone. Ryo offered a friendly smile and wave before turning away and heading back towards the boys' dorm. She would soon be his if this kept up.

Still, the fact that she tried to drug someone really caught him off guard. Anzu never seemed the type to do anything like _that_. It didn't deter him, though; it only made her more endearing.

The next day was the first day of school, though… _that_ would be interesting.

* * *

Since the first day of school was in August, the sun still rose at a fairly early hour. However, five in the morning was no decent hour of the morning.

Nonetheless, a teacher entered each of the six dorms and started blowing a whistle and making a huge racket to wake the inhabitants up.

In the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, Malik moaned, looking at his clock on the nightstand. It was five in the freaking morning!

The teacher blew his whistle. "Get up you ungrateful beasts! It's time to wake up!"

"Good heavens, no wonder people come out as brain-dead mind slaves…" Malik muttered as he got out of bed. "This would be enough to drive _anybody_ crazy."

The boys began grabbing their blue button-down jackets and blue pants when the teacher suddenly blew his whistle louder than ever. Everyone dropped everything and covered their ears.

"You're going to come out in your pajamas!" he yelled. The boys regarded him dubiously, but when he repeated himself and started grabbing them by their arms, they followed willingly.

Malik was very thankful that he didn't sleep in his boxers like some of them did.

They all walked outside, apparently in the same mess as the Obelisk Blue girls. The boys howled and hooted as girls came out in their own nightclothes. All of the new students from all three years came this way, but the ones who had been there before weren't there.

A Japanese woman with her hair pinned back in a bun and her brown eyes narrowed in their direction walked in front of the group of freezing and humiliated students.

"Welcome to your first day of Domino Alternative High School!" she yelled so she could be heard. Malik thought she sounded more like a drill sergeant than a teacher. "Let me explain a few things to you. Every morning of every day you will be getting up at five in the morning. You will have ten minutes to dress and get yourselves ready and then you will head out to this field. Then we will have our morning exercises. If you are late, you will be dragged out of bed an hour early the next day and will do your morning exercises in your pajamas like you are today. You all have specific uniforms for specific duties and days. Your regular uniforms are the ones that you were given at your arrival. You will be given your other uniforms today.

"Your schedules will be handed out to you before this morning's exercises. Failure to follow these schedules will result in detention. If you get more than two detentions within the same week, you will face rehabilitation. Any insubordination with the teachers and you will regret the day you were born. Am I making myself quite clear?"

Everyone nodded timidly.

After the woman finished, other teachers began handing out uniforms and schedules. While the items were being handed out, the woman explained what they were for.

Domino Alternative High School had three uniforms: workout uniform, regular uniform, and formal uniform. The workout uniform consisted of a plain white T-shirt and shorts with a color according to what dorm one was in. In Malik's case, he had blue shorts. The regular uniform for Obelisk Blue girls was a white button-down oxford shirt, a baby blue tie, baby blue coat, baby blue knee-length skirt, white socks and black shoes. It was the same for Osiris Red and Ra Yellow except the coat, skirt, and tie matched the color of the dorm. The boys' uniform for Obelisk Blue was a white undershirt, a baby blue button-down coat, baby blue pants and white socks and shoes. The same color schemes as the girls applied for the boys. The formal uniform was essentially the same thing except everything was black instead of dorm colors.

The summer uniforms were a bit different. Girls wore a shorter skirt, a loose white long sleeve shirt with a colored sailor's flap, and a ribbon tied to it. Obelisk Blue girls wore the skirt in baby blue, as well as the sailor's flap. The ribbon was a deep blue. The boys' summer uniform consisted of pants, a short-sleeve white button down shirt, and a tie. The Obelisk Blue boys wore baby blue pants and a baby blue tie.

Even hair and nails were part of the uniform. Boys had to have a clean-shaven face, and if they had long hair, it had to be out of the face. The girls also had to have their hair put back. If it was found in the face, it would be cut. No long nails for girls were allowed. No body piercings of any kind were allowed either. Nail polish or any other makeup was strictly prohibited. Malik was very tempted to ask if breathing was allowed, but decided against it. He almost expected their arms to have prison numbers branded in. This place really _was_ a prison. Still, he didn't miss Egypt one bit.

When he was given his schedule, Malik skimmed over it to see what he had. At five AM, he had to get up. Ten minutes later, he had morning drills. The morning drills would last forty minutes, a ten minute shower period was in between, and then he had breakfast. Breakfast was thirty minutes and then school started. His first class was history. History lasted an hour, and then he had Egyptian, which was a half hour. After Egyptian came Geometry, which was another hour, and then Biology, which was yet _another_ hour. Then Japanese was next which lasted half an hour. Goodness, he even had a _religion_ class; great, more brainwashing about the three gods. Finally, he had a study hall period that lasted half an hour and then lunch came.

Lunch was half an hour, and then the drudgery started back up again. His first class after lunch was world politics, another hour of slave labor. Following world politics was world literature, another dull hour. Another thirty minutes' worth of a study hall followed. The next half hour was foreign language, and then half an hour of computers. The last half hour was spent doing economics. By 4:30, the classes were over, but then there were two hours of community service. After that, came dinner, and then the rest of the night was spent in study rooms and libraries doing homework.

Behavior was a very important thing at Domino High. There was a system where good behavior was rewarded in extracurricular activities and bad behavior was punished in a good variety of ways. The teachers would pay close attention to attendance and class participation and if one did well, the teacher give the student a gold token that resembled Egyptian currency. If one had thirty-six tokens by Sunday, they could have access to the gym, which had a swimming pool, trampoline, basketball court, baseball field, and many other recreational areas. Tokens also bought the food. Two tokens was the payment to get regular meals for the day. Four tokens could get a person good, nutritious meals, and six tokens was enough for an all-you-can-eat buffet. On the other end, if one was unruly, they would be written up the first time, and then given a detention the second time. If they had two detentions in the same week, they would do "rehabilitation".

Rehabilitation was essentially extra community service, or extra work in any field and less time to do it. If one caused excessive and terminal problems, then they would be sent to the Special Learning Center, or the SLC, which was the small building in the back of the campus.

The school year lasted from August 5 to July 5. The students had to arrive a week early for school the next year, so they only had a three week summer vacation. Because of this, students were allowed to stay on campus year-round and could go anywhere they wish during the summer break, which was something Malik intended to take advantage of.

After all of this information had been relayed, the new students were given their uniforms and they were given five minutes to get ready. Malik rushed with the other boys back to their dormitory and quickly got dressed, tying his bleach blonde hair back and out of his face and brushing his teeth within two minutes. Shuichi, unfortunately, only had time for mouthwash while he put his thick red hair back in a ponytail.

"Honestly, the nerve these people have," he grumbled after throwing his workout uniform on.

Ewan laughed. "I'm glad _my_ hair's short."

"Oh, shut up," Shuichi and Malik both said.

Malik saw his bunkmate Ryo growling irritably as he tossed his own uniform on.

Meanwhile, poor Yuugi was having a panic attack.

"What am I going to do about my hair?" he practically wailed. "Most of it stands up so that's okay, but what about the golden locks? I can't help it; they just hang out this way naturally!"

Katsuya, who somehow managed to strap all his hair into a knot out of his face, grabbed some hair gel and used it on Yuugi's explosion of hair. He slicked all of the hair together so the golden locks stood up against the black and purple. "There,"

Ryuji, who was a little irritated that he couldn't let his bangs hang out in his face, laughed. "Wow, Yuugi, you really _do_ have the craziest hair ever."

Yuugi's face flushed slightly, but he was far less concerned now that his hair was out of his face as required.

Five minutes later, the boys all rushed out of their dormitory and ran onto the field just as the girls did so. After they had all regrouped, they were lined up according to their dorm colors. Obelisk Blue was the first line, Osiris Red the second, and Ra Yellow the last. The boys were on the left side of the line and the girls were on the right.

A physical education sensei led them through a series of stretches and then made them run ten laps on the track, which went around the entire campus.

"This is insane," Malik panted as Shuichi ran beside him. "They'll kill us before the first class."

"I don't even want to think about the classes," Shuichi moaned. "This is going to be a _nightmare_."

Twenty minutes later, since the introduction had taken up time, they were sent to their separate schooling facilities to get washed up and eat some breakfast.

Malik, Ewan, and Shuichi entered the boys' school building. The first thing they saw was a white-tiled hallway with plants flanking the hallway and large fancy portraits of principals and exemplary students and staff members on the walls. To their left was a door that led to the principal's office and to the right was the school office. The end of the hall intercepted another hall. If one went left, it led directly to the cafeteria, with doors on the left leading to the large library and the nurse's station. To the right was another corridor that led to the bathroom and the balcony of the auditorium. On the left just before the bathroom was a door that led to a stairwell going up and down two flights, respectively. The door just after the bathroom led to the foreign language classroom.

The three boys entered the large bathroom and saw other boys already there, showering in the curtained shower stalls. Their uniforms lay neatly folded in boxed lockers with their names on the door. They had each been given the keys to their many lockers.

Malik fiddled around the key holder for the key that opened this specific locker. After finally managing to get his uniform, he walked over to a vacant shower and quickly washed himself off. He knew that if he was late to breakfast, he would have a slim chance of eating before his classes started.

After a very quick but thorough shower, Malik dried himself off and got dressed, leaving the boys' restroom and taking a right. Once he reached the end of the short corridor, he took another right that led into the main hallway and walked straight into the cafeteria.

The cafeteria that the students had been eating in before the school year started was in the teachers' dorm, which was why it was boys and girls, but here everything was segregated by gender. The only time the boys and girls would mingle would be during morning exercises and possibly community service.

Ewan joined Malik soon after and the two got seats for them and Shuichi, who arrived two minutes later. Since it was their first day, they had a free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the next day, they would have to pay for their food with the tokens.

"I should've known they'd do blackmail," Malik grumbled while eating an Egyptian breakfast dish, Ful Medames.

Ewan shrugged as he munched on some pancakes. "What do you expect from Domino High?"

"I don't know what I expected," Malik replied. "But it certainly wasn't this,"

After a hasty breakfast, they rushed out of the cafeteria.

"Where the heck are our classes?" Shuichi asked. "We only have five minutes in between each class to get there on time!"

"This is why we left breakfast early, Sato," Ewan said. "Why don't we go to the office and ask for a map? I'm sure they have one."

The three walked down the hallway until it intersected with the entrance corridor. They turned right and then walked down the hall until reaching the office, which was now on their left.

After entering and asking for a map, the trio exited and looked at the map they were given.

"Okay, what are our schedules?" Malik asked his friends.

"History, religion, Japanese, world literature, Egyptian, study hall, lunch," Shuichi listed off. "Then world politics, geometry, foreign language, study hall, economics, computers, and biology,"

"Biology, world literature, foreign language, religion, world politics, study hall, lunch," Ewan read his schedule. "After lunch is geometry, Egyptian, English, history, Japanese, computers, and economics,"

Malik told them his schedule and then they all grabbed their separate maps. Ewan headed off towards the biology classroom, which was to the right in the main hallway instead of the left. Malik and Shuichi had to go left once again and turn right at the small corridor that had the boys' restroom, the foreign language classroom, the balcony of the auditorium, and the stairwell. The two turned left, going through a swinging door to get to the stairwell. They ascended a flight of stairs, turned sharply to climb the second flight, and exited through another swinging door which led to a sea green carpeted hallway. To their left the corridor ended at the world politics classroom. They walked the only other way, straight, and headed towards the first door on the right since only windows lined the left wall.

Malik and Shuichi entered the history classroom and were about to sit down when they noticed that the desks were numbered.

The sensei motioned for them to walk to the front of the classroom.

"We're not in trouble already, are we?" Shuichi asked the sensei hesitantly.

"No," the sensei replied. "Stick your hand in the box and pull out a slip of paper."

Malik went first, sticking his hand in the empty tissue box on the sensei's desk and pulling out a slip that had number ten on it. When he examined the desks, they were in three rows of eight desks, numbered from right to left. Malik was in the second row, second desk from the right.

Shuichi pulled number three, so he was in front of Malik and directly to his right.

They had three minutes to spare when Malik noticed a bit of a problem.

"Uh, why are we the only ones without textbooks?"

Shuichi froze. "Oh, crap,"

The boys jumped out of their seats and rushed out of the classroom before the sensei could say anything. Turning left out of the classroom, they ran straight to the swinging door that led to the stairwell, practically jumping down the stairs. The two did a sharp U-turn to the right when they reached the bottom of the first flight and then ran down the second set of stairs before bursting out of the stairwell and into the familiar hallway that was connected to the main hallway.

Looking at the map, they desperately looked for their lockers, which were on the other side of the main hallway on another attached corridor. The boys ran down the main hallway and turned left, seeing blue lockers lined up on the left wall. Another bathroom was on the right wall, with a door leading to the algebra and calculus classroom right beside it. At the end of the small hallway was the economics classroom.

Malik and Shuichi frantically searched for their lockers and fumbled through their keys as they tried to open their lockers and get their books.

"Wait, do we even know our books are in here?" Malik asked Shuichi as they unlocked their lockers.

"Oh, you've got to be _kidding_ me!" Shuichi yelled.

However, even though they never touched their textbooks after originally receiving them, they found all of their textbooks stacked neatly in the baby blue rectangular lockers. Shuichi's was on the bottom left from Malik's since the lockers were stacked one row on top of the other.

They searched for about thirty seconds for their history book and notebook and then they also noticed that a magnetic pencil and pen holder was on the doors to their lockers. The boys grabbed all of their necessary gear and then slammed the lockers shut and closed the locks.

Shuichi and Malik took off, turning right once they hit the main corridor and running past the entrance hallway. They ran for a short while before turning right once again and then sharply turning left into the stairwell. The boys rushed up two to three steps at a time before finally stumbling back into the history classroom just as the bell rang.

Malik had skipped school for so many years that he forgot the thrill and panic of getting to class on time, but it came back very quickly. The sensei, who introduced himself as Sensei Tanaka, invited the two of them and any others who were standing to sit down and get their books out.

"Since this is the first day of school, I'll let it slide," he said as he opened his own book. "But in the future, please note that you must be sitting and have everything ready by the time the bell rings."

Malik and Shuichi sat down and the class began.

After the initial thrill of rushing to get to class on time, Malik nearly passed out from boredom. History was ridiculously lame in his opinion; he didn't _want_ to learn about how the mighty Ra, Obelisk, and Osiris came into power!

Fifty minutes later, they were given homework assignments and had five minutes to work on them before they had to get to their next class. Malik looked at Shuichi who was leaning over his history book so closely that Malik thought he fell asleep.

Five minutes later, Malik had barely touched his homework, but the relentless bell rang. Moaning, Malik grabbed all of his stuff and stumbled out of the room, looking at his schedule and the map. Next was Egyptian.

"Great," he muttered. "Studying Egyptian grammar… fun, fun, fun,"

Hours and headaches later, Malik left the religion classroom which was on the bottom floor. As he exited the classroom, he turned left and walked down the long black-tiled hallway, passing other classrooms, including the algebra II classroom. He continued to walk straight until he reached a set of double doors and walked straight through, turning left into the stairwell and climbing up the first flight of stairs. Malik U-turned to the left and climbed the second set of stairs, exiting through the swinging door into the hallway that attached to the main corridor.

Walking down the main hallway, Malik made his way around other students as they hurried to different classes. In the crowd, Malik saw Ryo exiting the biology classroom looking irritated.

Malik continued to walk towards the side corridor where the lockers were so he could grab some books for study hall.

When he turned the corner, Malik had to push and shove through the crowd just to get to his locker. While he was unlocking it, Shuichi ran up.

"Hey, Ishtar!" he shouted as he squeezed through. "How have your classes been?"

"Terrible," Malik groaned as he searched for the right books for study hall. "It reminded me of why I skipped school back in Egypt."

Shuichi laughed. "I normally didn't skip school too often."

"Then why the heck are you here?" Malik asked.

"Oh, they just didn't like me, I guess," Shuichi said in a friendly manner, shrugging.

The two grabbed their desired books and turned left out of the corridor, continuing down the main hallway towards a set of double doors. Once they walked through, they entered a grey carpeted area. On the left were three rooms: another bathroom, the world literature classroom, and the physics classroom. Another hallway cut off on the right which led to the chemistry classroom on the right. Straight at the end of the hall was the Egyptian classroom, and then another hallway going left at the end led to the Obelisk Blue study hall room.

Shuichi and Malik entered the study hall room, which was a large cream tiled room with tons of desks towards the left and tables on the right. Up front, a sensei sat at her desk looking over paperwork. The room sounded as if it were rumbling with all the whispering between the students.

The two boys picked a table where they could work together and they saved a seat for Ewan, who arrived soon after.

While they were working, Malik noticed that Ryo wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Wow, and I thought I was stupid," Malik muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Ewan asked quietly.

"My bunkmate's a no-show," Malik replied in a similar tone. "I skipped school back in Egypt, but I'm not dumb enough to do it here. This Ryo guy, though, seems to think it's no different than jolly old England."

Shuichi shrugged. "He'll get what he deserves in the end."

The trio quieted down after that and worked on their homework. Malik was already knee-deep in homework assignments, and it hadn't even been lunch yet!

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Ryo Bakura sprinted across the grounds towards the girls' school building. He had to get out of that school… it was a _nightmare_. Ryo knew he would hate the place, but it was just awful. He couldn't even describe how much he wanted to ring those teachers' necks. Maybe if he saw Anzu he would settle down.

On his way, he saw a girl standing at the gate, looking frightened.

"Who the heck are you?" he asked her harshly.

The girl backed off but she didn't leave. "My name is Nosaka Miho. I wanted to give Mazaki Anzu-chan this."

Ryo looked at the gift basket in Miho's hands. "I know Anzu-chan. I'll give it to her. Now buzz off."

Miho handed the basket to him and ran off as quickly as she could. Ryo snorted; stupid goody-two-shoes girl.

Sifting through the gift basket, he found chocolates and other assortments of snacks. There was also a note.

This was the perfect excuse to see Anzu!

Ryo smirked and rushed towards the girls' school building. Once he entered, he walked down the green-carpeted, white-walled hallway towards an open area where the office was on the left. Up ahead, the green carpet vanished and turned into black tile. Girls walked back and forth in their summer uniforms, babbling away.

Ryo approached an Osiris Red girl. "Do you know where I can find Mazaki Anzu?"

"Uh… I think I saw her heading down to lunch. She's probably in the line going to the cafeteria. You'll see it once you turn the corner." The girl replied.

Ryo nodded and turned the corner as instructed, running into a huge line. Girls from all three years were talking loudly as they stood in a line heading down two flights of wooden stairs. Obviously the cafeteria wasn't on the main floor, unlike in the boys' school.

On the first flight of stairs, Ryo saw Anzu.

"Hey, Mazaki-chan!" he shouted.

Anzu looked up and looked slightly startled, but her two Japanese companions, Atsuko and Sachiko, waved ecstatically. Their Russian friend, Marina, simply watched, looking mildly surprised.

Anzu said something to her friends and then pushed her way against the crowd so she could get to Ryo. "What are you doing here, Bakura-kun?"

"Some girl named Nosaka Miho gave this to me." Ryo held out the basket. "She said it's for you."

Anzu seemed touched. "Thank you, Bakura-kun. Miho-chan was a classmate from my old school and a good friend. I'm surprised she was brave enough to come here; she's kind of a chicken."

Ryo laughed. "I can believe that."

Anzu smiled for a moment and then quickly said, "Shouldn't you be at _your_ school, though? If they find you here, you'll be in big trouble."

"That's okay," Ryo shrugged. "I don't really care. I'll be heading back in a little bit anyway."

"You'd better head back now," Anzu said with a tone of friendly warning. "It would be bad if they caught you."

"All right, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Ryo held his hands up in defeat and left with Anzu giggling and running back to her spot in line.

At least he got away from his freaking school for a little while.


	4. Homework

The first day of school was over. Malik groaned as he, Shuichi, and Ewan collapsed on comfortable couches that were in the library.

The classes had seemed like they lasted an eternity. The sensei would give them boatloads of homework. It was just a _nightmare_.

Malik had also seen Domino High's security force first-hand when they did community service. He had been stuck with a kid from Canada who had a major violent streak; if looks could kill that boy massacred the whole lot. They were instructed to scrape the graffiti off the walls in the train station. Thankfully there weren't a lot of people around since rush hour hadn't come yet, because only a few minutes after being given the scraper, the kid succeeded in hacking a sensei's arm. He even got into a fight with a _security officer_ and knocked the guy onto the train tracks. The guy even continued to fight when they pointed a gun at him. Security had to bang him in the _legs_ with their batons because there was no other way to get near the lunatic.

"Great… this homework is going to make my head explode." Ewan moaned.

"As long as you help us with world politics," Shuichi intoned. "I _hate_ world politics. It's so _boring_."

"I don't see how you could like biology," Malik said.

Shuichi laughed. "At least I like _something_."

"I don't care about the classes." Malik replied. "But I _do_ hate religion class… I _hate_ the gods."

Shuichi and Ewan looked over at him, Shuichi saying, "That's odd; I would've thought that someone from the Ruling Land would be the most subservient to them."

"Are you kidding me?" Malik practically stood up and threw his hands in the air. "I can't stand them! That's why I got out of Egypt as quickly as possible!"

"I don't really care about the gods," Ewan shrugged. "As long as they don't bother me, I guess."

"But they _do_ bother you," Malik argued. "Every day of your _life_; isn't that why you were sent here? Because you were a delinquent: someone who didn't fit into the normal group of rule-abiding, brainwashed students?"

"I suppose so," Ewan muttered. "I don't know what to think about that. My whole life I've been taught that they're the supreme rulers and whatever they say is law. Isn't that right?"

"If you _truly_ believed that, would you really be here?" Malik asked his friend.

Ewan laughed. "I guess not. You know, you'd be a good motivational speaker."

Shuichi gave a heartless laugh. "Give me a break. If he tried to speak out against the gods, they'd slit his throat."

Ewan and Malik exchanged alarmed and bewildered looks before looking at Shuichi. His bright green and bouncy eyes seemed to have darkened.

"What are you talking about, Sato-kun?" Ewan asked.

Shuichi's eyes suddenly misted as if he was lost in his own thoughts and then they suddenly returned to normal. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I dozed off there!"

Malik let it drop, but he kept it in his own mind. _That_ was weird.

After an hour of studying, Shuichi slammed his geometry book shut. "I can't do this anymore tonight. I'm turning in."

Malik and Ewan worked a little longer before doing likewise.

"I feel like my brain's swollen," Malik complained.

Ewan mumbled an incoherent response, and the two dragged their feet to the dorm.

* * *

In the two-floored library, girls whispered and scratched their heads as they worked on their mountain of homework.

The second floor, a balconied area, held tables for girls to study. At one of these tables, Anzu, Atsuko, Sachiko, and Marina sat, their schoolwork spread out.

Marina sighed as she looked at her religion homework. "Is Ra always this wordy?"

Anzu stifled a laugh. "Don't tell me you're reading his speech on immodesty."

"I am," Marina moaned. "And it's _five pages long_,"

Sachiko flipped through her religion book to find the speech. "Ouch, that's a lot. Good gods, don't these people know the meaning of the word _summarize_?"

"You should see his speech on marriage," Atsuko put in. "I looked ahead in the book. Ten. Pages. Long."

Marina and Anzu dropped their jaws as Sachiko continued to look over the speech on immodesty.

"You know, it's actually a good thing that Ra does the speeches," she suddenly said.

Marina gaped at her. "What? How can you say that when you just heard what your cousin said?"

Sachiko looked at the other three. "Well, can you imagine if Osiris said the speeches? He's got _two_ mouths; I don't even want to think how long _he_ can talk."

Suddenly they all started laughing, earning a dirty look from the librarian.

"Get this," Marina said, looking back at Ra's speech. "In this passage, he says, "it is unlawful to fornicate." My word… it's a good thing he doesn't know about teenage delinquents nowadays."

They all stifled giggles.

About two hours later, they all went to bed, collapsing in their own bunks. Anzu lied awake once again, thinking about nothing in particular. Her mind wandered to Bakura Ryo momentarily before she blushed furiously and quickly went to sleep.

* * *

_August 18, 2031_

_History_

_2,031 years ago, the three gods, Ra, Osiris, and Obelisk appeared in the world. They brought peace to the savage people by putting their henchmen in charge. The people of darkness, as they became known, ruled with a kind and gentle hand. _

_The three gods took up residence in their homeland of Egypt, which became the Supreme Land. The world worshipped the gods and praised them. In return, the gods kept the people in a state of peace and happiness. _

_Religiously speaking, Egypt became the capital of the world, but as time passed, the United States and Japan were fighting to become the economic capital. To this day, they continue to fight, being the most influential countries (besides Egypt) in the world. Due to this factor, all children are required to learn Egyptian for religious services and traditions, and English and Japanese as trade languages as well as their own native tongue._

Sighing in agony, Anzu looked at her pitiful history paper before scrunching it up in her fist. She was never going to get it done! Beside her, Marina and Atsuko worked tirelessly on their own homework. Sachiko was in the gym; she and Anzu were the only ones to get enough tokens to enter and goof around.

Anzu had made herself promise that she wouldn't go to the gym until she finished her history paper, but at the rate she was going, she would never get it done. She needed a history expert or she would be writing the paper (which was due _the next day_) all through the night.

Marina looked over her report on one of Ra's speeches before moaning and burying her face in her hands. "I'm going to die before Avgoost is over, I just know it."

"Um, I think you mean August," Atsuko corrected.

"Sorry," Marina said through her arms. "If I'm speaking Russian, then I _know_ I'm losing it."

"Just relax, Marina-chan," Atsuko said reassuringly. "You'll get through it. We all will."

"Do you know what the penalty for fornication is?" Marina's head shut up. "Death or life imprisonment! It's insane!"

Atsuko rolled her eyes. "It's always been like that. Now stop worrying."

Anzu looked over the balcony railing to the main floor of the library. She wished she could see Bakura, but he probably had homework too.

Sighing, Anzu returned to her history paper. The girls worked until about nine o'clock and then turned in, preparing for their third week in Domino Alternative Hell.

* * *

**Review, please! **


	5. Shuichi and Malik's Getaway

Malik and Shuichi grumbled and groaned as they walked through the city park picking up litter.

"I was hoping community service was going to be a little more exciting," Malik growled. "This is just ridiculous."

"I hate Bakura," Shuichi said. "How did he get out?"

"I don't know," Malik replied. "I'll tell you one thing; now I _really_ feel like a prisoner."

Malik's comment was prompted by the sensei that was guarding them, watching carefully.

"There's got to be some way for us to get out of here," Shuichi whispered as they tossed some trash into a bag. "If Bakura could do it, so can we."

"We've been doing this for an hour, Sato, and that sensei hasn't moved his eyes. We're stuck."

"Don't give up so easily, Ishtar-kun," Shuichi said with a mischievous tone.

Malik once again wondered why Shuichi had been sent to Domino High. He didn't seem too bad a person… but there was something underneath that friendly smile that didn't quite feel right.

"What do you suggest?" he asked.

Shuichi shrugged. "A distraction, maybe,"

"What kind of distraction?"

Shuichi took out a lighter, lit it, and threw it into the bag.

Malik jumped to his feet. "Are you nuts?!"

Shuichi smiled and tossed the bag beside the sensei. "I think there's something alive in there, sensei."

The sensei laughed. "Do you really expect me to believe that? Get back to work!"

Shuichi shrugged and grabbed some more trash, putting it into another bag. Malik stood staring at the sensei until he was finally yelled at to continue cleaning.

"We're going to get in so much trouble," Malik whispered to his friend.

Shuichi's green eyes narrowed fiendishly. "Oh, no we're not."

Malik suddenly wished he was with Ewan in the metro scrubbing graffiti.

The smell of something burning invaded Malik's nostrils and the sensei yelped. Shuichi continued cleaning without a second glance in the sensei's direction. Malik tried to follow suit, but he finally glanced back at the sensei that was panicking as flames now began to eat through the bag.

"Get some water!" the sensei shouted.

Malik froze. Shuichi, however, straightened his back, wiped the dust and grime off of his uniform, faced the sensei, and said, "Sorry, sensei, but that's not what you told me to do."

With that being said, Shuichi put his hands in his pockets and calmly walked off. "Come on, Ishtar-kun,"

Wide-eyed, Malik watched as the sensei panicked, stomping the flames out. He quickly turned and ran after Shuichi.

"Shouldn't we go a little faster than just a walk?" Malik asked urgently.

"No need to worry," Shuichi reassured him. "I left another surprise for him."

Behind them, an explosion—not too loud, but enough to get someone's attention—was heard. Malik jumped and turned around while Shuichi continued to walk ahead. The sensei was holding a bloody hand and down on his knees in pain.

"What the heck did you do?" Malik practically yelled.

"I simply gave him what he deserved," Shuichi replied. "Come on, Ishtar-kun, we've got some sightseeing to do!"

Malik turned and saw that Shuichi now had his familiar happy-go-lucky smile back. His green eyes, which looked devious and even malicious earlier, now sparkled once more.

"Okay…" he muttered and followed his friend.

Shuichi laughed as he ran downtown with Malik following, slowly getting over what had just transpired at the park.

"I think we should go… here." Shuichi said, pointing to a small but lively looking place.

Malik looked at the sign, which read: にこまん馬. (Nikomanma)

The two entered and asked for a table for two. The waiter led them through the wooden-floored restaurant/bar into a section where there were short circular tables and large cushions to serve as seats. Malik smiled and sat down on one side while Shuichi sat down on the other.

"See? This is nice." Shuichi told him, picking up a menu. "They even have nihonshu."

"Yeah, but how the heck are we going to get any?" Malik asked. "I mean, I can drink once I hit eighteen in Egypt. What's the age here?"

"Twenty," Shuichi answered.

"That doesn't help,"

"Don't worry about it," Shuichi said cheerfully. "We'll find a way."

Malik smiled. "Sounds good to me,"

When they ordered, Shuichi asked for yaki udon and Malik, after consulting with Shuichi on what the dishes were, ordered chirashizushi, a sushi dish.

While they were waiting for their meal, Malik struck up a conversation.

"So, why exactly were you sent to Domino High, again?" he asked Shuichi.

Shuichi shrugged. "Like I said, I guess they just don't like me."

"Where are you from?" Malik changed the subject; obviously Shuichi didn't want to talk about it… either that, or he didn't care either way.

"I come from Matsuyama; it's the capital of the Ehime Prefecture," Shuichi answered. "You know on Shikoku?"

"Right, Shikoku is the island just south of the main island," Malik confirmed, nodding. "Wow, so you came a long way."

"Not as long as you," Shuichi laughed.

When the food arrived, Shuichi smacked his palms together and licked his lips, shouting, "Itadakimasu!"

"I receive?" Malik repeated. "What does _that_ mean?"

"It's customary to begin a meal with saying 'itadakimasu'." Suichi explained. "Then at the end of the meal, you say, 'gochisosama deshita'. It's Japanese etiquette."

"Oh," Malik paused for a moment. "Well, then, itadakimasu!"

The sushi was delicious. Malik enjoyed every moment of it, and the two ate in comfortable silence.

After finishing their meal, Shuichi rubbed his stomach. "That was great! Now, let's see about getting that nihonshu."

Malik watched as Shuichi hopped up from his cushion and strolled out of the room, humming cheerfully. That kid was a mystery to Malik. He had seemed so vindictive at the park, but here was happy-go-lucky as usual. What was he really like?

A few minutes later, Shuichi came back with a tray holding a bottle in a small wooden box. Two small cylindrical cups were also on the tray.

"Here's a little culture lesson for you, so you can impress some Japanese girl," Shuichi said. "This bottle that contains the nihonshu is called a tokkuri."

Malik examined the glass tokkuri, which had a rather bulbous body but thinned out to a small neck.

Shuichi then took the two cups. "These cups are called 'ochoko'. Traditionally, nihonshu was served in a small wooden box—the one that I put the tokkuri in—called a masu.

"Now, if you really want to impress a girl, you'll serve the nihonshu cold or at room temperature," Shuichi explained. "This keeps the scent and the flavors intact. If you warm it up, a lot of that will be lost."

"Okay, so if I take a hot Japanese girl out on a date, I'll treat her to a cold glass of nihonshu." Malik laughed. "Even though I have no idea how you got it."

"Oh, I have my ways," Shuichi gave a mock-mysterious look. "Anyway, let's drink it!"

Shuichi poured out Malik's drink and Malik did vice versa, as was custom. The two held up their cups in a toast.

"To the death of Domino High," Shuichi giggled.

Malik also laughed. "Yes, to the death of Domino High,"

The two downed their drinks in one gulp.

* * *

Ryo laughed, wild and free as he and a few classmates smoked in an ally. "It's such a relief to get away from those old windbags, isn't it?"

A fellow Obelisk Blue nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm glad we're out of there. Now all we got to do is avoid recapture."

"You make it sound like we're animals," an Indian Osiris Red boy named Hiranya commented.

"It's certainly how we're treated," another Osiris Red student replied, crossing his arms irritably.

"Anyway, I got to split," he went on. "I've got a girl to see, after all."

"Lucky," Hiranya muttered. "My girlfriend is back in India."

"At least you _have_ a girlfriend," another student retorted.

"What about you, Bakura?" a Japanese classmate asked.

Ryo shrugged. "I've got a girl, yeah. Her name is Mazaki Anzu. She's a native."

"Ooh, Anzu," some of them laughed. "Good luck; I've heard she's a tough one. Some guys have already tried to get to her."

"Who?" Ryo snapped. "She's _my_ girl and no one else's."

Hiranya put a thoughtful hand to his chin. "I think it was two boys from the Osiris Red class. Then there were a few suitors from Obelisk Blue, but they didn't last too long… oh, except for one. He's a German guy named Karl-Heinz Schmidt. He's being trying to hit on Anzu since he first saw her two days ago."

"Goodness, school just started three weeks ago," Ying-Tai, an Osiris Red Chinese girl—who was in the arms of a Ra Yellow Chinese boy named Xiang Duan—giggled. "Yet everyone's already claiming girls. I'm glad I'm already taken."

"Hey, did you hear about the latest hot-spot for teenagers?" an Obelisk Blue Austrian boy whispered.

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Just say it and stop whispering; you must be new to this."

A Ra Yellow Japanese boy named Katsu Mitibashi went on for the excitable Austrian. "It's called Domino Kaji. It's near downtown."

"I heard about that place!" Xiang said. "Ying-Tai and I intend on going there some time to see if all the things we heard are true."

"Can you give me an address?" Ryo asked, interested.

"Yeah, sure," Katsu closed his eyes for a moment to remember the name. "Um, it's 3-9-4, Mizumi-ku."

Ryo nodded. "Got it,"

"Hey, I got a bet for you," a French Osiris Red girl—Katsu's girlfriend—named Aimée Bontecou said. "If you can get Anzu to go with you on a date, then we'll all go to the DK in two weeks' time. Katsu-kun knows a lot of people over there; a lot _very_ interesting contacts if you get my meaning."

Ryo smiled. "That sounds interesting. All right, it's a deal: if I get Anzu to come as my girlfriend in two weeks, then you and your boyfriend can introduce us."

"Très bon!" Aimée clapped her hands together in delight. "We'll all go in two weeks. I hope you can get her to be your girlfriend; there are some very good contacts at the DK."

"Now that we've got that settled…" Xiang smiled. "Let's get some drinks!"

Just as they agreed, a Ra Yellow girl ran up, panting and looking panicked.

"Cristiana, what's wrong?" Aimée asked.

"Some sensei got his hand _shredded_," the Italian informed the group. "You guys had better split quickly if you don't want to get caught; they've got their security after whoever the culprit is. They say it was some Obelisk Blue kid… I think he's Japanese."

Ryo threw down his cigarette and stomped on it. "I guess it's time to go."

The group split up and rushed back to their specific areas and started scrubbing, scraping, and cleaning once more.

Security was searching the place for whoever hurt the sensei. Ryo wondered who in his year it could be. He didn't know too many…

Eventually their community service for the day was done. Ryo sighed in relief; he _hated_ community service anyway.

They were taken onto the bus and driven back to the campus. Ryo sat alone but was soon joined by Atsuko.

"Hey, Bakura-kun," she greeted cheerfully. "Did you hear about that sensei?"

Ryo was tempted to ignore her, but he remembered that he had to get Anzu to be his in two weeks; she wouldn't approve of him ignoring her friends. "Who didn't? With security all over the place, it was obvious that _something_ happened. Do you know the details?"

"Well, I know it was someone in Obelisk Blue," Atsuko listed off. "It was a guy… he is Japanese… I think he was in the park."

"That doesn't tell me a lot," Ryo stated.

Atsuko merely shrugged. "It's all I know. I thought maybe you heard a little more."

"Nope,"

There was a long silence before Atsuko started the conversation up again.

"So, um… what were you saying to Anzu-chan, anyway?"

Atsuko was referring to him sneaking in at lunch as he had made a habit of doing every day.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Ryo trailed off, waiting to see the girl's reaction.

"Well, you must have said _something_!" Atsuko insisted.

"Why do you ask?" Ryo faced her.

Atsuko gave an innocent shrug. "Simply curious,"

"Tell me," Ryo leaned closer so he could lower his voice. "What kind of guy does Anzu-chan like?"

Atsuko stared for a moment and then had a look of triumph. "I knew it! Marina-chan said not to trust you, but I knew you were in love with Anzu-chan! You know, she's kind of got a crush for you too…"

"Marina said not to trust me?" Ryo repeated. That was a bad sign. That stupid Russian girl wasn't supposed to say that.

"Yeah, but we think she's inexperienced anyway." Atsuko laughed. "But, yeah, Anzu-chan definitely has a massive crush on you. Why, just last night when we asked her what she thought of you, she said she thought you were cute and sweet."

Ryo smiled. "That's cool,"

"So," Atsuko leaned closer and began to whisper. "You have to declare your undying love for Anzu-chan before someone else does."

"I've only know her for three weeks!" Ryo whispered back. "If there's one thing I've learned about her, it's that she doesn't go for guys on a whim."

"You are right about that," Atsuko replied. "But she's got plenty of other suitors who are _very_ hot and they're all begging for her. So far, you're the only one she'll admit she likes. That could change, though, so hurry!"

The bus pulled up to the campus and the boys and girls separated, going to their separate dorms and schools to do the first night's homework. Ryo's thoughts were on Anzu, however.

Atsuko was right; Anzu's interests could change quickly. Ryo had to procure her before it was too late… but how?

* * *

Shuichi and Malik laughed as they walked down the sidewalk, wobbling dangerously towards the street. However, both were too intoxicated to care.

"So what did you do to that sensei, anyway?" Malik slurred.

Shuichi blinked and then seemed to remember. "Oh, yeah, now I remember! I stuck a spray can in there; you know the type that says 'don't put in heat'. So when the fire started and the sensei tried to put out the flames, the heated up can went BOOM!"

The two stared at each other for a moment and then began laughing once again, completely oblivious to the incoming traffic.

The last thing Malik and Shuichi heard was a truck horn blaring in their faces. Then everything went black.

* * *

**Please review!**


	6. Domino Kaji

**Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

It had been a whole month since the start of school at Domino Alternative High School. Most of the students had gotten into the routine. So far, only one student had been sent to the SLC. However, two students, Ishtar Malik and Sato Shuichi, had been hospitalized after getting hit by an armored car in a main street downtown. The two had been in a coma since then. Their friend Mansfield Ewan had asked to be allowed to visit the hospital every Sunday.

As the clocks rang out that it was noon, Bakura snuck out of the boys' school as was now a routine, and, on the other side of the campus, Anzu did similar.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Anzu muttered as she ran up to Bakura. The boy was cute and she like him a lot, but breaking the rules was what got her stuck in Domino High in the first place.

"Hey, Anzu-chan," Bakura greeted her.

"Hi, Ryo-kun," Anzu smiled. "So, you said you were going to ask me something today?"

"Um, yeah…" Ryo stopped awkwardly. "I was just wondering if the rumors I heard about you and the German kid were true."

Anzu blinked. "German kid? What German kid? I don't even know any German people here."

"Really?" Ryo looked up expectantly. "I just heard that some Schmidt kid and you were going out."

Anzu laughed. "Where would we go out to? I think I know who you're talking about though; he's really annoying. He wants me to be his girlfriend."

"And you said…?" Ryo prompted.

"I told him that I already had a boyfriend," Anzu smiled cheerfully. "It was the only way to get rid of him."

"Is it okay if I fill in that slot?" Ryo asked.

"Uh…" Anzu stuttered. She hadn't expected that to come out so quickly. "Well… Ryo-kun…"

She wasn't quite sure what to say, but after seeing his face, she knew that it wasn't a "no".

"Of course,"

Ryo-kun smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Anzu felt oddly comfortable in those arms… was this how it felt to be hugged by a boyfriend? She had never had one before…

Anzu returned the embrace and then Ryo pulled away slightly, looking into her eyes. "Anzu-chan… before, you said 'where would we go out to'… I know where we can go."

"What?" Anzu stared at him. "How can we get out of here?"

"I know some people who have friends in a place called Domino Kaji, also known as the DK." Ryo explained. "They said it's the local hot spot for teenagers. Haven't you heard of it? You are a local here."

Anzu paused for a moment to think about the place. "Yeah, I've heard that it's a great place to dance and have fun… I never got the chance to see it."

Ryo smiled once again. "Well, now you do. I'm going tomorrow night with the people I mentioned. We should go; it'll be our first date! Anzu-chan, will you go with me?"

Anzu looked into his brown eyes; how could she refuse? "Sure thing, Ryo-kun; I'll go with—"

The rest of her statement was cut off by Ryo's lips suddenly meeting her own. Anzu stared in shock for a few seconds before returning the kiss.

Ryo's grip tightened and his kiss intensified. Anzu did similar. The two remained this way for a short while before Anzu pulled away.

"I have to get to lunch," she stuttered.

Ryo nodded. "Right… me too,"

Ryo backed away slowly and just before turning around, he said, "I'll meet you at the bus just before they drag us off to community service tomorrow."

Anzu smiled. "Okay,"

Ryo winked and ran off towards the boys' school as Anzu stumbled back to the girls' school.

Inside, the Takahashi cousins jumped in her path. "How did it go?"

Sachiko looked like she was about to lose her head. "We saw you two kissing! Is it official?"

"Is what official?" Anzu asked, blushing slightly.

"Hello-o, your relationship," Atsuko said. "Are you boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Um… yeah," Anzu looked away, embarrassed.

The two girls squealed in delight, which eventually caused Anzu to giggle.

* * *

It was Saturday, the big day. Anzu's stomach churned nervously as she went through he classes. She was going to meet Bakura at the bus to community service and then they would go on their first date. Atsuko and Sachiko hadn't stopped pestering her, but Marina remained silent. She seemed a little irritated and a little worried at the same time.

Anzu didn't know how she got through the day, which seemed to last forever, but the moment finally came. She ran over to the community service buses and waited for her boyfriend.

She didn't have to wait long. About five minutes after her arrival, Bakura-kun came into sight with a few other boys. Anzu suddenly noticed that she wasn't the only girl waiting, either. She had arrived almost half an hour early; why were there others there?

Bakura rushed up. "Hey, Anzu-chan,"

Anzu smiled and hugged him and the two kissed. "So where's this great date? Why are there others here?"

"It's the group we're traveling with," her boyfriend explained. "We're going to the DK with them. It'll be fun, trust me."

Anzu smiled and the butterfly feeling in her stomach intensified. After the group waited for a short while, they gathered and went on their way. Anzu and Bakura were being accompanied by five couples: Jonouchi Katsuya and Hisamatsu Ryoko, Mitibashi Katsu and Bontecou Aimée, Duan Xiang and Zhou Ying-Tai, Mansfield Andrew and Mancini Cristiana, and Otogi Ryuji and Nakamura Kiyomi. Anzu did her best to ignore Jonouchi, Otogi, and Nakamura. What were _they_ doing in the group anyway?

The six couples snuck by the security guards at the main gate and then rushed downtown.

"Yippee!" Cristiana shouted in triumph. "Now let's head down to Domino Kaji!"

The group excitedly made its way down to a darker part of town. Anzu suddenly wondered what kind of place Domino Kaji really was.

"Um, Bakura-kun, what kind of hang-out spot is DK?" she asked Bakura-kun.

"No need to sound worried, Anzu-chan," he reassured her. "It's a great spot. There's dancing and food and drinks… everything a teenage couple could think of."

Anzu smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I guess you're right,"

When they arrived, it was just as Bakura-kun had described it. Teenagers were dancing to some great music and there were concessions on a table to the side. Couches were also along the walls so people could hang out.

Anzu and Bakura-kun danced about four dances before walking over towards the couch.

"You know, it's kind of odd that this dance floor is on the bottom of a bunch of apartments," Anzu noticed. "I mean, wouldn't all the noise disturb the tenets?"

Bakura laughed. "Um, no, normally the tenets are making their own noise."

Anzu didn't quite understand his meaning, but she felt there was more to it than what was said. Still, she didn't push it. Bakura got up and said he was going to get some food for her.

"Thanks," she replied with a smile.

Ryo walked over to the concession stand where he saw Katsu and Aimée talking to a group of people. Smiling, he walked over.

"Salut, mon ami!" Aimée shouted excitedly. "So, are you planning anything special with your girlfriend?"

Ryo laughed. "Maybe, but in a little bit… I still have some friends of yours to meet."

Katsu motioned towards the other people in the group. "Bakura Ryo, this is Ichikawa Haruri. He's the head of the Ichikawa-gumi."

Ryo had heard of the Ichikawa-gumi. They had started up in Domino but they became pretty widespread over Japan. They normally did drug dealing, prostitution, and other similar illegal activities. Ryo didn't really care; it gave him some action. He had also heard that they hated the people of darkness and often picked numerous fights with them. Many people thought of them as liberators from the gods' grasp.

After having a short discussion with Haruri, Ryo took his food and walked back over to Anzu. Some boys had been eying her and he didn't like it.

"Sorry it took me so long, Anzu-chan," he said, sitting down beside her and handing her the food. "I got introduced to some friends of Mitibashi's."

"Hmm," she said as she ate. "This food is really good!"

After eating, the two danced a little bit more, including a few slow dances. By then, Ryo knew he had her.

Anzu looked at him silently before the two kissed passionately. When their lips parted, Ryo smiled and led her to the upper floors.

* * *

_Beep… beep… beep… beep…_

Malik moaned as he opened his eyes. What was that irritating sound?! His eyes shifted around the room slowly until he realized that he was in a hospital bed.

Malik jumped up and then was suddenly yanked back by the oxygen mask on his face. He bounced off the pillow and snarled before throwing the stupid thing off. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was… drinking nihonshu. Lots of nihonshu.

"Whoops," he muttered. Where was Shuichi, anyway?

Just as he was about to get out of bed, the door opened and a nurse walked in. She stopped and gasped softly when she saw him, and she quickly rushed over to his side.

"When did you wake up?" she asked him.

"Uh, just now," Malik replied, confused. "How long have I been here, lady?"

"You've been comatose for two weeks," the nurse informed him.

"What…?" Malik gaped at her. "No, no, no… you got it wrong, lady…"

The nurse smiled warmly and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Ishtar-kun. You'll be just fine."

The nurse looked him over, called a doctor, and after the whole fuss was over, they left the room. Malik lied in bed, wondering what the heck happened in between drinking the nihonshu and waking up in the hospital after laying in a two-week coma. And where was Shuichi?

When the nurse returned to check on him a few hours later, Malik asked about Shuichi.

"He was also comatose, but he woke up yesterday," she answered. "You two can be out of bed in a week."

Malik happily stayed put in bed after the nurse left. Being in the hospital for over three weeks meant no school!!!!

* * *

Anzu walked down the stairs of the apartments to the main floor. When it wasn't a teenage dance club at night, it was a restaurant during the day. Bakura was still asleep upstairs, but she was starving… and she needed to be alone.

Last night had been incredible, but it was something she never expected would happen to her. Sighing, Anzu ordered up a hefty meal and looked out the window at cars driving by.

A few minutes later, Bakura descended the stairs and walked over to her. "What's wrong, Anzu-chan?"

"Oh, nothing," Anzu replied. "I just woke up before you and I got hungry."

"Hmm," he sat down across from her and ordered when the waiter came back around. Their meals arrived at the same time and the two quickly ate their breakfast.

"How are we going to get back to school?" Anzu asked.

Bakura almost choked on his food. "Get _back_? You want to go back to that nightmare?"

"I have friends in that nightmare," Anzu reminded him. "I'd like to see them again. Besides, you know how that place is; they'll probably blame our friends for _our_ disappearance!"

Bakura didn't seem to like the idea, but he gave a grunt of agreement. The two paid for their meal and then exited the building, walking down the street together. On the way, they saw Bontecou and Mitibashi up ahead.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones to spend the night there," Anzu muttered.

Bakura laughed. "Anzu-chan, I think everyone's intention in going there _was_ to spend the night."

"Even yours?" Anzu asked him.

Bakura looked at her. "Only if you wanted to… it is what lovers do."

Anzu looked down at the pavement and said no more. The two made their way back to the school gate after taking the metro and then paused.

"Are you really sure you want to go back there?" he asked her.

Anzu paused, looking at the prison. "Yes… yes, I am."

Bakura sighed and the two snuck back in, splitting and going to their separate dorms. Anzu ran into the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm and rushed to her bed. Atsuko was sitting on the adjacent bed, doing some homework. However, the moment she saw Anzu, any homework on her mind vanished.

"Anzu-chan!" she hopped off her bed. "How was your date? Obviously it was more than just ice cream…"

Anzu kept quiet, but her look gave it away. Atsuko squealed in delight. "Don't worry; your secret's safe with me, but I think the others will guess."

"Thanks, Atsuko-chan," Anzu laughed. "It was fun."

"Oh, I'm sure," Atsuko replied. "You know, I'm kind of jealous. When I made out with a cute guy, I thought he was the one, but he split the day after. You still have Bakura-kun, right?"

"Yep," Anzu replied. "He even came back with me, even though I could tell he didn't want to."

"Wow, now _that's_ loyalty," Atsuko giggled. "You're so lucky!"

Anzu kept quiet, so Atsuko continued the conversation.

"Did you hear about the Obelisk Blue boys who were in the hospital?"

"What about them?"

"They're both awake! One woke up yesterday, and the other today!"

Anzu smiled. "That's great! I'm sure their friend Mansfield is happy to hear that."

"Yeah," Atsuko nodded. "He went over to visit them as usual."

"What did I miss yesterday?" Anzu asked as she gathered some clothes to take a shower.

"Nothing much," Atsuko replied. "They were flipping out 'cause of you guys, but besides that it wasn't very exciting. I wonder if they're going to punish you for it."

"They'll probably give me a detention just like they did for that last group," Anzu replied, heading off to the bathroom.

After a long Sunday filled with homework, their sixth week of school began. Anzu rushed into the school building alongside Marina. Atsuko and Sachiko were already inside. On her way, she caught sight of Bakura, who exchanged a glance with her.

"You owe me," his look said.

Anzu laughed. She could imagine he didn't like being back at Domino High very much.

"I'll pay you back sometime," she replied with her eyes.

* * *

**Let me warn you young ladies out there that men like Bakura in this chapter are NOT FUN. They're only out to take advantage of you. PERIOD!**

**Ahem, anyway, please review!  
**


	7. Mysterious Items

**Haha, two chapters in one night! Yippee!**

* * *

Malik opened the door to his room and peeked right and left. No one was in the hallway. Smiling, he tiptoed out of the room and snuck down a few doors, entering silently.

Shuichi was sleeping in bed. Malik crept over beside him and gave him a soft shake.

Shuichi gave a loud snore before jerking awake. "What… is it already time to go?"

Malik nodded silently.

Shuichi hopped out of bed, reached underneath, and pulled out a change of clothes for both of them. After quickly getting dressed, they exited the room calmly and quietly. The two boys took the elevator to the main floor and then exited into the lobby. At the desk, a young Japanese girl was talking with the nurse. Shuichi froze.

"Sato, what's wrong?" Malik whispered. "If we stop we'll get caught."

Shuichi ignored him and walked over to the girl. He gently grabbed her by the arm and coaxed her to walk with him and Malik.

The three left the hospital and began to walk down the street.

"Okay, Sato, what's going on?" Malik asked his friend.

The boys had escaped the hospital because they were going to be discharged the next day, which meant returning to Domino High. They had already told Ewan on Sunday, and the two planned to meet up with him on the coming Saturday. The chilly October wind blew through the city as they turned the corner.

"I know her," Shuichi replied evasively.

Malik looked at the girl. She looked their age. "Who are you?"

The girl nervously looked at Shuichi, who sighed. His regular bounciness had vanished.

"Her name is Sato Yukiko," he said. "She's my wife."

Malik froze dead in his tracks. "She's your _what_?"

Shuichi walked into an alley with the girl and Malik stumbled to follow. "Sato, what the heck is going on?!"

Shuichi leaned against the wall, holding the girl gently in his arms. He looked Malik in the eye. "Do you promise to keep quiet?"

"Cross my heart, pal," Malik replied quickly.

Shuichi took a deep breath before explaining. "You know how on the first day of school in the library, I kind of dozed off and said something stupid? Remember that?"

"You said that the gods will slit my throat if I speak my opinion of them," Malik prompted.

"Well, I said I dozed off because I wanted you guys to forget it," Shuichi went on. "I hate the people of darkness and their gods too. My reasoning is a little different, though. My dad hated them too, and he voiced his opinion… he even got some people thinking about it. This caught the gods' attention and they imprisoned me and my entire family for it. My parents were executed, and then my older brother, my older sister, and they were going to do it to me as well."

Shuichi pulled up his left sleeve and held out his arm. On it was the seal of Exodia, the Forbidden One. "You see this? I got it because I swore my undying loyalty to the gods and their people of darkness. To make sure I kept my word, they put this magical seal on me. If I say or do anything traitorous, it'll kill me automatically."

As Malik gaped, Shuichi then pulled the girl's left sleeve up and showed the same symbol on her arm. "Yukiko got this as well. Her parents were friends of mine, and they were imprisoned with her and her family for association with my family. Many others were executed. Her entire family was scheduled to be killed when I swore my loyalty.

"The gods said that because I swore my loyalty, any remaining members of my family would be spared. Well… Yukiko and I had known each other since we were four, and we were childhood sweethearts. I loved her and I didn't want her to die along with everyone else, so I went to her parents in prison and got their permission to marry her. If she became my wife, she would be spared. So we were married, and she received the magical seal as well. We've been living off of part-time jobs ever since then…"

"How old were you when this all happened?" Malik barely managed to say.

"We were thirteen," Shuichi replied. He then faced his wife. "What are you doing here, Yukiko?"

"I heard you were injured, Shuichi," Yukiko said. "And…"

Yukiko paused, looking awkwardly at Malik.

"Uh, I think I'm going to wait over in that area," Malik motioned towards the deeper part of the alley and quickly walked off, leaving the two to talk in private.

Malik's mind whirled as he walked. Shuichi had a _wife_!! He was Malik's age for Ra's sake! Hearing Shuichi's sad tale about his family only made Malik hate the gods and their monsters all the more.

As Malik fumed over the situation, he didn't even notice the person until he bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going," Malik snapped irritably.

The person grabbed Malik and gripped him desperately with his grimy hands. "Please… you have to help me…"

Malik looked at him. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Please help me," the person repeated.

"All right, just stop whining and tell me what's going on!" Malik yelled.

The man stuffed his hands into a pouch and pulled out something wrapped in a dark brown cloth. "Take them… you can keep it if you want… just get it away from me…"

Malik grabbed the cloth and rolled his eyes, muttering, "Weirdo,"

The man whimpered and fell to the ground and clawed at him. "Please, take the others,"

Malik kicked him away. "Get lost, pal,"

The man ran off, screaming in agony. Malik watched him go. That guy was _definitely_ a lunatic.

Looking down in curiosity, Malik began to take the wrapping off and noticed a glint of gold. Getting excited, Malik unwrapped the rest and found what looked like a golden scepter. The eye of Anubis was on the scepter and Malik discovered that it also had a hidden blade underneath a golden sheath that made the scepter look like a regular item.

"Wow…" he muttered, turning the item over in his hands. "This is _definitely_ Egyptian…"

This brought up the question of why the heck a Japanese guy was in possession of it.

Malik's thoughts were interrupted when he looked back at Shuichi and noticed that his face was paler than usual. Malik ran back towards Shuichi.

"What's wrong?" he asked him.

"Um," Shuichi looked awkwardly at Malik and then sighed. "We have to get out of here."

"I already know _that_," Malik replied. He then showed Shuichi the item he got. "What do you think of this?"

Yukiko gasped. "Wow that looks like its pure gold!"

"I think it is," Malik nodded.

Shuichi was about to take the item, but the moment his hand touched it he gripped his arm in pain. Yukiko and Malik immediately asked what was wrong.

"The seal," Shuichi said through gritted teeth. "When I touched that scepter the seal felt like it was on fire."

"That's odd," Malik muttered, looking at the item. "The guy I got it from didn't seem to like it too much, either."

Yukiko looked at the item warily. "Maybe it's cursed,"

Malik shrugged. "Doesn't seem to be bothering me,"

Shuichi managed to get over the pain rather quickly and the three walked down the street. After getting a few odd looks from people, Malik quickly wrapped the scepter back in the cloth.

"Honestly, you'd think they'd never seen an Egyptian item before," he muttered.

Shuichi froze. "Oh, how could we be so stupid? Ishtar-kun, don't you realize that item's probably some sort of special artifact?"

Malik looked at the bundle. "I thought it might be, but what the heck is it doing in Japan?"

"Maybe someone stole it," Yukiko suggested.

"I guess…"

Shuichi motioned towards the sidewalk. "Let's go."

As the three walked, Malik noticed that Shuichi constantly kept his eye on Yukiko. Malik curiously looked at the girl when he noticed a slight bulge around her abdomen.

A loud clang was heard as Malik dropped the bundle. "You—she—she's,"

Malik pointed at Yukiko wordlessly, gawking at the girl. No wonder she had been awkward to tell Shuichi in front of him!!

Shuichi laughed. "Yeah, we know,"

"But you're only—I mean she's—gosh you guys—this is—UGH!" Malik stammered.

Yukiko joined Shuichi in laughing.

* * *

Yuugi sighed as he sifted through the monstrous pile of notebooks and papers. He knew his report was in there _somewhere_…

Jonouchi was off in the distance brooding. Otogi had gone out with some girl named Nakamura a few times and Jonouchi was jealous. Yuugi tried not to pay attention to their bickering, but sometimes it was pretty annoying. Honda on the other hand didn't seem to notice. Yuugi assumed he was daydreaming about Miho.

Anzu had been acting awfully odd lately. Yuugi knew that she and the B.B. were boyfriend and girlfriend, which originally he was a little freaked out about, but he had gotten over it. Besides, she was his friend; he couldn't make her unhappy just because of his own opinion of her boyfriend… that wasn't what friends did.

Two students disappeared. They were classmates of Yuugi's: Ishtar Malik and Sato Shuichi. They were due to be out of the hospital by tomorrow. The doctors were in a panic because they hadn't fully recovered. Yuugi was a little worried too.

The bell rang, signaling for community service. Yuugi moaned along with all of the other boys as they got up and headed over to the school buses.

They all climbed into the bus and headed downtown. Yuugi _hated_ community service. He didn't mind helping a person, that wasn't the problem… it was just that he was normally stuck with the freakish people and watched like a convict by a sensei.

As the bus stopped and they were separated to different duties, Yuugi's prediction came true; he got stuck with the B.B. He was going to die, he just knew it.

The two boys were sent to pick up litter by the main highway.

"I'm going to get shot or run over or punched or stabbed…" Yuugi muttered to himself continuously.

The B.B. ignored him entirely, but eventually he faced him and pretended to be cleaning. "Do you want to get out of here?"

Yuugi paused. "I wouldn't mind, but wouldn't we get in trouble?"

"The rumors about you were true; you _are_ a baby," the other boy's tone held exasperation.

"I am _not_," Yuugi replied hotly.

"Then prove it," the British Bully replied. "I'm going to hit the security guard. You need to take out the sensei at the same time."

"I can't hit a sensei!" Yuugi almost yelled.

"If you want to live, you will," his voice took on a menacing note.

"Okay," Yuugi hastily replied.

While repeatedly muttering "I'm going to die", Yuugi waited until the British Bully made his move. It came very quickly; the B.B. pounced onto the security guard, grabbed his baton, and whacked him over the head. Meanwhile, Yuugi charged head-on into the sensei, but to no avail. Due to his short height, Yuugi merely bounced off the sensei. With a snort of laughter, the B.B. did the rest.

"That was completely pathetic," he laughed at Yuugi.

"Oh, shut up," Yuugi grumbled.

The two boys ran off and down through a few alleys. They were suddenly stopped when Yuugi fell over; a man had grabbed his ankle.

The dirty man looked at them pleadingly. "Please… help me…"

The B.B. rolled his eyes and kicked the man in the face. "Beat it, freak,"

"Shouldn't we help him?" Yuugi asked.

The man stood up and threw down two sacks and ran off. All the two boys could do was blink.

"That was weird," they both said.

The British Bully looked at the sacks and picked one up. "That's funny,"

"What?"

"I could've sworn I heard something. Didn't you hear it?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No, I didn't hear anything,"

"Hmm," the B.B. looked into the sack and his eyes widened. "Whoa!"

"What is it?" Yuugi asked curiously and excitedly.

Bakura reached into the bag and pulled out a pendant of some sort. Its gold surface shone in the light. In the center it had the eye of Anubis on it.

"What is it, a wind chime?" Yuugi asked, motioning towards the gold pieces that hung off the circular item.

The B.B. laughed. "It's a money bringer, _that's_ what it is."

"Hey, you can wear it," Yuugi pointed out, grabbing a piece of rope that had originally held the sack's mouth closed. He tied it through the loophole. "See?"

Bakura looked at it without interest but put it around his neck nonetheless. "What's in the other sack, anyway?"

Yuugi reached down and opened it up. Inside, he saw a golden box. "Oh, wow, this is so cool!"

Yuugi pulled the box out and showed it to Bakura. When the two peeked inside, they saw gold pieces shaped like a puzzle.

"It's a puzzle!" Yuugi shouted with glee. "I _love_ puzzles!!"

"Sounds real fascinating," the B.B. rolled his eyes.

Yuugi immediately sat down and began to put the pieces back together.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" the B.B. snapped.

"I'm putting it together—" Yuugi said, getting interrupted by the sound of people coming their way in a hurry.

Yuugi and Bakura exchanged horrified looks. Bakura quickly stuffed the pendant under his uniform as Yuugi looked for a place to stick the box. Bakura growled impatiently and grabbed it, sticking it down Yuugi's pants.

Yuugi yelped. "What are you _doing_?"

"It'll make you look manlier anyway," Bakura muttered as he ran off. "Now, come on!"

Embarrassed and irritated, Yuugi ran down with a jingling sound every time he took a step. Unable to control himself, Bakura laughed.

Behind them, the footsteps got closer. Even running at full speed, the two boys couldn't outrun security. After a long chase, they ran into a dead end. They were cornered.

Security caught up with them and dragged them back to the school buses with Bakura grumbling the whole way.

When they returned to the school, they were both given a detention. Yuugi was mortified.

"A detention," he grumbled in dismay. "I can't believe it…"

"Oh, get over yourself," the B.B. replied. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have found your puzzle."

"Good point," Yuugi said as his spirits lifted. "Now I'll have something to do in my free time."

* * *

Malik, Shuichi, and Yukiko laughed as they ran through the park. The boys escorted Yukiko everywhere and they all enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

"I still can't believe you don't know what it is," Shuichi said to Malik, referring to the scepter. "I mean, you're _Egyptian_ for Ra's sake, and you don't even know what an Egyptian artifact is!"

"I'm telling you, I've never seen anything like it before," Malik replied.

They all shrugged it off and continued their fun at the park. At the end of the day, they happily made their way towards a restaurant. Malik discovered that Shuichi had a very good talent for pick pocketing the evening before after watching him steal two wallets that were stuffed with yen.

As they ate their hefty meal, Yukiko examined Malik and Shuichi. "You guys look exhausted."

Malik stifled a yawn. Now that Yukiko brought it up, he _did_ feel pretty tired. "Oh, it's nothing…"

Yukiko didn't look convinced, but she dropped the subject. Malik and Shuichi had a fun time speculating what the scepter could possibly be. Suddenly, Yukiko gasped.

"What is it?" Shuichi asked her.

"Police are coming!" she pointed out of the restaurant window towards two officers heading their way.

"So, two police officers are coming to eat at a restaurant," Malik said. "What's the harm in that?"

Shuichi watched them for a while. "They're on duty. They're coming here for a reason. Let's go."

The three stood up, gave a wad of yen to a stunned waitress, and exited through the back. Just as they did, more police cars pulled into the area.

"You were saying?" Yukiko looked over at Malik.

"Oh, shut up," he snapped.

They knew they were cornered. The police officers took them back to the hospital without a word, but they weren't too rough on them, which surprised them.

When they arrived, a horde of worried-looking doctors rushed out to meet them and escorted them inside, thanking the police.

One of the officers tipped his cap in response. "It wasn't a problem. You had better make sure they don't slip out again."

Then he patted the three on their shoulders. "Get better soon, you guys,"

The three exchanged confused glances before getting dragged into the hospital.

"B-but I'm not a patient here!" Yukiko protested.

"We looked up your file, young miss," a doctor said. "With what you're living off of, you _are_ our patient! You can't survive _and_ carry a child with _that_!"

Yukiko was separated from the boys. Malik and Shuichi were returned to their rooms.

"Uh, how much longer are we going to be stuck here, doc?" Malik asked one of the doctors getting him resituated.

"Considering the excitement you must have gone through, I'd say about three or four more days," he replied. "You look exhausted. You should get some rest, Ishtar-kun."

Malik rolled his eyes, but then hurriedly snatched the bundle that held the scepter. Thankfully, the doctors didn't notice.

After the doctors left, sleepiness began to overrule any other thought or feeling. Malik stuffed the bundle under the hospital bed and then quickly fell asleep.


	8. Shadow Game

**Hey, sorry it took so long, life's been a bit busy. Enjoy!**

* * *

Multicolored leaves floated and danced in the air as the wind blew. The cobalt blue sky had a few scattered clouds. Birds flew in enormous flocks. It was November in Domino, Japan.

Ryo sighed. He hadn't been able to go anywhere with Anzu since the night at Domino Kaji. _That_ had been fun.

Ryo fingered the odd-looking golden pendant that he had found in the sack the crazy man had dropped. Yuugi was still going nuts over his _puzzle_. The kid hadn't stopped working on it ever since he found it. Any moment of free time was spent piecing it together. Yuugi was definitely weird.

On the bunk below his, Malik Ishtar was asleep. He had been released from the hospital a week ago and the doctors ordered that he wasn't to be bothered too often. The kid got to skip morning exercises and was allowed to spend the school day in the library. Of course, a teacher brought all the work and assignments, but Malik didn't have to deal with the teachers.

An excited squeak came from Yuugi's bunk, which was just beside Ryo and Malik's. Ryo looked over at Yuugi, who also slept in the top bunk.

"What are you squealing about?"

Yuugi held up the golden puzzle. It was beginning to take a shape. "I figured out what it looks like!"

"What's that?"

"It's a pyramid!" Yuugi said triumphantly. "Now all I have to do is put the remaining pieces together…"

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Right… have fun."

Ryo put the pendant around his neck and stared at it once again. For some odd reason, he liked it; when he had first seen the pendant in the sack, he thought he heard a voice. Of course, it was probably just the wind or something.

Many of the lights on nightstands had been turned off. It was ten at night and most of the students were asleep by then. Some who were really behind in school or who just wanted to relax were still awake, but the general group had turned in. Yuugi always stayed up until half past ten to work on his puzzle. By the time it was midnight, everyone was asleep… except for Ryo.

Ryo peeked around to make sure everyone was asleep and then climbed out of bed slowly so he wouldn't wake Malik. As he climbed down, Malik snored softly and shifted in his bed. Ryo waited until he didn't move again.

Hopping down lightly, Ryo slipped some shoes on at the doorway and walked outside. He needed some fresh air, anyway.

The golden pendant jingled softly as Ryo ran across the field, enjoying the gentle breeze. Suddenly, his relaxation was ruined.

"You there! What do you think you're doing?"

Ryo froze and stiffened. If a teacher wanted a fight, he'd give him one. He used to beat up annoying teachers with his gang. Just as he turned around, however, everything faded.

Ryo blacked out.

* * *

Sensei Yamaguchi took a deep breath as he walked through the school grounds. Many of the students had settled down and realized that they were not in a playground anymore. Domino High molded young people into fervent believers of the system of the gods of darkness.

As he walked, Sensei Yamaguchi noticed a student out of bed wandering the field. The boy had long white hair. He knew that kid; he was Bakura Ryo, a punk from England who seemed to believe that no one had authority over him. Sensei Yamaguchi smiled; a trip to the Special Learning Center would teach him otherwise.

"You there! What do you think you're doing?"

Bakura froze and stiffened. As he turned around, the sensei could have sworn he saw an odd glow come from his chest. The boy suddenly carried himself differently. Instead of looking headstrong and mean, he looked calm and somewhat sympathetic.

"You poor thing," he said. "How long have you been lost in darkness, anyway?"

Sensei Yamaguchi gave him an odd look. "You've got some nerve, Bakura. You're going to the SLC."

Bakura crossed his arms and had an amused expression on his face. "What makes you think that?"

"If you're fooling with me, boy—"

"Why don't we play a game, sensei?" Bakura offered in a friendly tone. "If I win, you'll let me be… but if _you_ win, I'll go to the SLC without a fuss."

"I don't have to play a game to take you in, Bakura," Sensei Yamaguchi snapped.

Bakura shook his head, wiggling his finger. "Temper, temper, sensei. Come, let's play a game."

Suddenly, a table appeared out of nowhere. On top of it were two glasses filled with ice and a bottle of vodka sat beside each glass. Unsettled, Sensei Yamaguchi jumped.

"No need to be nervous, sensei," Bakura said as he sat down on one side of the table.

The sensei walked over and sat down on the other side. "What are you up to, Bakura?"

Bakura leaned his arms on the table. "The beginning part of the game is a simple riddle. Listen carefully, for I shall only say it once:

"Honda and Abe, two popular politicians, met at a club to discuss the overthrow of their party leader. They each ordered vodka on the rocks. Abe downed his and ordered another. He then drank his second in a gulp and decided to wait before he ordered a third. Meanwhile, Honda, who was sipping his drink, suddenly fell forward dead. Both men were setup for an assassination. Why did Honda die and Abe live?"

Sensei Yamaguchi concentrated hard. It was a boy who was telling him this riddle; it couldn't be too hard! Why did Honda die and Abe live? Yamaguchi mulled it over. If they were both set up for an assassination… perhaps someone fumbled? Maybe Abe switched drinks? Perhaps the assassination for Abe was different than Honda's?

"Wait," Yamaguchi paused. "You said that the riddle was only the _first_ part of the game."

"Why, of course," Bakura explained calmly. "Once you think you have the answer to the riddle, you will decide which of our bottles belongs to Abe and which belongs to Honda. Then we will pour out the drinks accordingly. You can choose which glass you would like to drink. If you think that I have Abe's glass, feel free to drink from it."

Sweat began to build on Yamaguchi's brow. This was insane! He would just have to call the others… that was it. After he defeated the brat, he would throw him into the SLC!

Deciding that Abe's assassination was different from Honda's, Yamaguchi then thought about which drink it could possibly have the poison that killed Honda. Surely Bakura would want to have Abe's glass in front of him, but what if he was pulling reverse psychology? What if Abe's glass was actually in front of Yamaguchi?

Sensei Yamaguchi began to think of Bakura's personality. The boy loved torturing people. Yamaguchi could see how he would want to play a game like this. So if he enjoyed torturing his opponents, would he put the poison in front of himself or the victim? Bakura knew that Yamaguchi was smart… so perhaps he was pulling reverse psychology? That had to be it! No… Bakura would _realize_ that Yamaguchi would think of that, so _clearly_ the poisoned bottle was actually in front of Bakura himself!

Smiling, Yamaguchi pointed to his own glass. "This is the glass that contains no poison. This is Abe's glass."

Bakura nodded. "Then let us drink. Cheers,"

The two poured their respective drinks. Yamaguchi began to drink his and then paused when he watched Bakura down his vodka in one gulp. Victory was his! Pausing for a brief moment to relish it, Yamaguchi drank the rest and slapped the glass down onto the table. "I win, Bakura!"

Suddenly, pain shot through his veins. A sympathetic look flashed across Bakura's face. Sensei Yamaguchi stood up and screamed, holding his head. His nerves felt like they were on fire! Everything began to spin. Yamaguchi ran off, trying to stop the pain.

As he ran, Bakura shook his head slowly, getting up and crossing his arms. "You poor fool; could you not figure out the riddle? _Both_ drinks were poisoned. The poison was in the ice. Honda allowed his ice to melt partially into the drink, while Abe drank it too quickly for that to happen."

* * *

At five in the morning the birds were silent. The false dawn was barely visible in the sky. Even the wind was asleep. However, this did not last long.

"Get up, you ungrateful worms!"

Anzu moaned. She already felt like a defective computer, she didn't need those stupid teachers to add to it. The bunk above her, where Marina slept, wiggled and bounced as its inhabitant bounced off.

"Come on, Anzu," Marina said sleepily. "You don't want them dragging you out in your pajamas, do you?"

Anzu laughed. "No, I don't,"

The two swiftly got dressed in their workout clothes and rushed out into the cold November air. As Anzu lined up, she caught sight of Bakura. He looked awful. His hair was sticking in all directions, and he had rings under his eyes. What had happened?

Anzu worried about it throughout all of their morning exercises, but she didn't get a chance to talk about it with him. After showering and eating breakfast, Anzu, Marina, Atsuko, and Sachiko all went their separate ways for classes. Anzu and Atsuko had their first class, Egyptian, together. Anzu felt nauseous as she tried to memorize the many rules of Egyptian grammar. It was the language of the gods, the divine tongue, so she had to learn it for rituals, but it was still a _pain_.

After class, the two descended the carpeted wooden stairs to go to their next class on the main floor. Turning left at the stairwell, they entered through a double door section and turned right into the first classroom, which was the geometry classroom. As Anzu got all the geometric necessities out, Sachiko entered, immediately sitting beside Anzu even though she was actually three rows forward.

"Did you hear about Yamaguchi-sensei in the boys' school?" she asked Anzu.

Anzu shrugged. "I guess not. What does he teach, anyway?"

"Foreign language," Sachiko answered quickly, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, he didn't show up to class and the students kind of wondered what was going on, so someone contacted another sensei. They started searching all over and guess what? They found him screaming like he was dying near the SLC!"

"What?" Anzu turned her full attention to her friend. "How did _that_ happen?"

"No one knows," Sachiko went on excitedly. "Maybe it's a sensei disease!"

Anzu laughed at the comment. "I wish, Sachiko-chan. I wish."

The bell rang and Sachiko almost flew to her desk just before the geometry sensei entered the room and the class began.

* * *

Shuichi and Malik sighed as they worked on homework in the library. Everyone was in class, but the two of them were off the hook for the time being due to doctors' orders.

As Malik glanced over at his friend, they both heard screaming in the hallway. It sounded like someone was in tremendous pain. The two boys shot out of their seats and rushed into the hall to see what was going on. What they saw was Sensei Yamaguchi writhing in pain in the middle of the hall as fellow teachers tried desperately to figure out what was going on.

Doctor Nozaki, the school doctor, rushed over to help. With the doc's help, the teachers managed to move the distraught sensei down the hall towards the doctor's office which was only a doorway away from the library. After the door closed behind them, Malik and Shuichi exchanged alarmed and puzzled looks.

"What the hell was _that_?" Malik asked.

Shuichi could only shrug in reply.

Just as the two began to head back toward their studies, the bell rang. It was nine o'clock. The two boys had been ordered that they were to check in to the doctor's office at nine AM and nine PM every day.

Malik shrugged. "Well, it gives us an excuse to see what in the world happened."

The boys exited the library, turning right to walk down the hall. On the right, the very next door led to the doctor's office. As they entered, they heard screaming in one of the back rooms.

"Good gods is this a doctor's office or a torture zone?" Shuichi muttered.

Dr. Nozaki returned from the back, looking stressed. He motioned for the two to sit down. After giving them a quick check-up, he told them to take a short nap in one of the back rooms.

As the doctor led them through the bedrooms, they passed the one that contained Sensei Yamaguchi, who was still screaming. Dr. Nozaki quickly situated the boys in a room that contained two comfortable beds and closed the door. The sensei's screams echoed around.

"What is _wrong_ with that guy?" Malik whispered.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Shuichi replied. "But there's no way we can nap with _that_ racket."

"You don't have a lot of respect for teachers, do you?"

"Not particularly, no,"

After a while, the noise died down. Dr. Nozaki either succeeded in calming the sensei down or he sedated him. Malik didn't care either way; it allowed him and Shuichi to go to sleep, which the two did rather quickly.

What seemed only moments later, Malik woke up. He heard voices in the main office. One belonged to Dr. Nozaki, but the other belonged to Malik's bunkmate: Ryo Bakura.

Malik raised his head slightly and looked over at Shuichi. The redhead was fast asleep, snuggled underneath the white blanket. Malik concentrated on listening to the conversation. He could barely hear what they were saying, but he caught on to the words "headache", "exhaustion", and "black out". Then Dr. Nozaki led Ryo down the hallway to the room beside the one Malik and Shuichi were in.

After hearing the door close, Malik heard the doctor heading towards his room. Malik quickly lowered his head onto the pillow and closed his eyes as he heard the door open.

Dr. Nozaki entered and checked on Shuichi first before walking over to Malik to look him over. The doctor then left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Malik sat up and looked at the clock. It had only been thirty minutes; no wonder Shuichi was still asleep. Shrugging, Malik joined his friend in slumber land.

* * *

Ryo moaned as he twisted and turned in the bed he was led to. He couldn't sleep and the headache he had was plaguing him constantly. Suddenly, he felt his neck get tugged. Looking around, he saw nothing, much to his puzzlement. Then he felt the tug again.

Ryo then realized it was coming from the rope around his neck. Grabbing the golden pendant, he was astonished to see one of the golden pieces hanging off the circle pointing towards the wall. It made an odd humming sound as it did so and vibrated softly. Obviously it was no ordinary pendant, but what the heck was it doing?

Curious, Ryo got out of bed and walked in his socks over towards the doorway, sliding it open and sneaking out. Ryo followed the pendant/compass thingamajig as it led him to the very next room. Sliding the door open quietly, Ryo entered the room.

The doctor's office had three different kinds of sleeping rooms: single bed, two beds, and three beds. This room had two beds, one against each wall. Both were filled in this room. The inhabitants were two of Ryo's classmates, the very two who had been in the hospital: Malik Ishtar and Shuichi Sato.

The pendant pointed towards Malik for some odd reason. Ryo crept closer and closer to his classmate, wondering what could possibly be setting the pendant off. It pointed directly at Malik.

Confused, Ryo slowly moved the covers. To his astonishment, he thought he saw something golden glittering under Malik's arm. How was he going to get to it, though?

Malik shifted a little and took a deep breath before his eyes began to flutter open. Ryo tried to get away, but the wooden floor was too smooth. Instead of fleeing, he slipped and fell onto his backside, waking _both_ inhabitants up.

"Bakura, what are you doing here?" Shuichi muttered sleepily.

Ryo tried to stuff the pendant away, but it was too late. Both boys caught sight of it, and their jaws dropped.

"What is _that_?" Malik asked, pointing to the pendant.

Ryo shrugged. "I found it."

Malik reached under the covers and pulled out what Ryo had caught a glimpse of just before. It was a golden scepter, with wings sticking out of the main head. On the head, the eye of Anubis glittered.

Ryo's pendant went berserk. All of the golden pieces attached suddenly pointed to it.

"What in the world?" Shuichi and Malik got out of bed and rushed over to Ryo's pendant. "What is it doing?"

"I don't know," Ryo replied. "This is the first time it's done this."

"Hey, you know these items look pretty similar," Malik observed. "Do you think they're related somehow?"

"What are you talking about?" Ryo snapped.

"What you've got is an Egyptian artifact, Ryo," Malik replied. "Just like mine,"

"What?"

Malik sighed. "I don't know what kind of artifact it is—"

"And you call yourself Egyptian?" Ryo interjected.

"—But I know that it's definitely Egyptian," Malik finished, ignoring the interruption.

Ryo looked down at the pendant. The dangling pieces were still pointing towards Malik's item, seemingly hovering unaided in the air. "Is there anything about Egyptian artifacts being magnetic?"

Malik laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm just as confused as you with this."

"Some help you are,"

Shuichi walked closer, but didn't touch the pendant. "I think I might have a feeling that these aren't your typical artifacts."

"_Really?"_ both boys said with sarcasm and irritation in their tones.

"Besides the obvious," Shuichi rolled his eyes. "When I first touched Malik's scepter thing, my arm—"

And then Shuichi shut his mouth and shook his head, turning away. Confused, Ryo looked at Malik, who seemed to understand what was going on.

"What's up with him?" he asked.

Malik returned his gaze to Ryo. "Um, I think he was just saying these things aren't exactly school-kid material."

Obviously trying to change the subject, Shuichi cut in. "So what are you doing in here anyway?"

Ryo played along only because he was so confused he couldn't talk about the artifacts anymore. "I've got—uh…."

Ryo suddenly realized that his pounding headache had ceased. What was wrong with him?

"Yes…?" Malik prompted.

"Uh, I _had_ a huge headache earlier," Ryo quickly went on. "I blacked out last night, too."

"Blacked out?" the two boys repeated.

"I was taking a walk," Ryo crossed his arms defensively. "Some sensei… oh, crap…"

Ryo trailed off, remembering the night. He had been walking when a sensei called out to him. It was Yamaguchi, the same sensei that ended up screaming in tortured pain just down the hall! What had happened last night?

"What sensei? What happened?"

"Yamaguchi found me, and I blacked out," Ryo said.

"Sensei _Yamaguchi_ found you?" Malik gaped. "But he was found by the SLC this morning crying like a baby!"

"I know," Ryo replied, for once not trying to sound intimidating. He was intimidated himself. "I don't know what the hell happened… I just blacked out, I _swear_."

"Relax, we're not accusing you," Shuichi said reassuringly, holding his hands in the air for emphasis.

Malik, on the other hand, was staring at Ryo's pendant silently, his eyes slightly unfocused.

"What's wrong with _you_?" Ryo asked Malik accusingly.

"I was just remembering a story my sister told me a long time ago," Malik muttered. "Before she became one of _them_,"

"One of them?" Bakura repeated. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"My sister is an ambassador to the gods," Malik practically spat out. "I hate her for it,"

"So I take it you don't like the gods," Bakura assumed.

"Yeah," Malik replied.

"What story did she mention?" Shuichi asked.

"Well… it's a long story, but I guess we've got time," Malik sat down on his bed. "My sister had this story told to her by our mother.

"Three thousand years ago, a young pharaoh was reigning during a time of turmoil. People were trying to invade Egypt, crime was at its peak, and it was all-out chaos. Therefore, the pharaoh had seven items created. These items were created through evil means: by slaughtering an entire village. The pharaoh, unaware of this, wore one of the items around his neck while six other advisors held the other items.

"After defeating the enemies outside of Egypt, the pharaoh realized it was time to use the mystical items on the enemies _inside_ of Egypt. The items had the ability to summon the demon out of people's souls, which the pharaoh's court did exceptionally well. However, once they had stored hundreds of thousands of these demons, sorcerers began to summon them with their own magic to do their bidding. The pharaoh's court remained loyal but eventually many of them were defeated. The sorcerers now had the mystical items in their possession.

"Over the years, things grew worse and Egypt was on the verge of being overrun by these sorcerers. Even the sorcerers lost control of the demons after a while. The demons began to think and command for themselves and tried to take over Egypt by trying to assassinate the pharaoh. The pharaoh managed to fight them off with his item.

"The young pharaoh now realized that with these demons running loose no one was safe. He made a plan with one of his advisors and they performed a complicated spell just as the ringleaders of the demons began to attack the capital. The pharaoh cast the spell and sealed the demons into another world, using his name as the key to breaking the seal. With this spell done, it drained the pharaoh immensely. He fell into a coma and died a week later. Many say that the pharaoh still lurks around protecting Egypt from the demons."

Shuichi gaped at Malik. Ryo did too; he couldn't believe that the Egyptian hadn't realized it earlier. "Are you _serious_? Ishtar-kun, what do you think your scepter _is_? Let's think about this: mystical items, there are seven of them so it's obviously a set, magical powers, ancient, Egyptian… _hello-o_!"

Malik stared at his scepter. "I don't know… I always thought it was just a story…"

"Than what are the demons if these artifacts actually exist?" Ryo brought up.

Shuichi looked livid. "I think I know who,"

* * *

**Hehe, I love shadow games! Review!**


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